A Legend Reborn
by Exoxia
Summary: Half man half alien war machine. Losing his humanity at the age of 15 in an accident, he regained it after 2 years of struggle and loss. His dreams of a quiet life have been shattered once again. Dragged into the supernatural world by a chance encounter, it marks the rebirth of a legend long forgotten as Issei does his best to survive and uncover the secrets hidden in his past.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

This is my first attempt at a fanfic so go easy on me please.

"Speech"

'thoughts'

 **[sacred gear/creatures speaking telepathically]**

 **Chapter 1** : The Beginning?

"You perverts just don't learn do you?" the menacing figures of the kendo club girls towered over the infamous perverted trio. Issei, Matsuda and Motohama tried to squeeze themselves further into the corner they'd been backed into after being cornered. "Any last words?"

"Um, your oppai are magnificent?" "Incorrigible, absolutely incorrigible… DIE!"

A violent flurry of shinai descended on the helpless trio as Issei's words predictably failed to pacify the wrath of their peeping victims. The trio's screams of pain and cries for help went ignored by the rest of the student population as they simply shook their heads and walked by, such a scene already commonplace by now.

-line break

After the kendo girls had their fill of vengeance, the unlucky trio retreated to an unused classroom to nurse their wounds.

"Ow ow ow ow… sheesh I was just complimenting them. Did they really need to over react like that?" Issei's question was instantly answered by a solid blow to the head by Motohama. "Are you daft or just plain stupid? Of course they'll react in such a way after getting a comment like that from someone like you. If I didn't know you so well, I'd think you're a masochist of some sort."

"Nonsense…" Issei shrugged off the pain and relaxed against the wall, a carefree smile on his face. "There is no one like me, besides, I was telling the truth, they were amazing, eh heh heh heh…" A lecherous smile spread across Issei's face as a bit of drool began to leak out.

"Quit drooling man, it's disgusting." The baldy in the corner and the last member of the trio Matsuda admonished Issei. "How much longer do we have to keep up the dumb pervert act anyway? Getting beat up on a regular basis without retaliating at all goes against everything I stand for. Can't we at least escape without being beaten?"

Issei fixed him with an even gaze, all traces of lechery and mirth gone. "You know why Matsuda, at least one of the students here from the Kyoto exchange program is a little less than human. It's kinda why I called the both of you in."

"Yeah well, we ain't exactly normal either. One of us refuses to die no matter what, one can use blood as a weapon and one is part alien, a real freak show. We've been doing this for two weeks now and you still haven't told us why we're working so hard on this. Perving is fun and all but I have my own job to do and so far, getting chased and beat up on purpose is a real waste of time."

"I have to agree with Matsuda on this Issei, I have my own responsibilities and this is really eating into my time. Plus, I don't like getting hit." Motohama piped up in support.

Issei contemplated in silence for a few moments before deciding to speak up. "Alright, fine. I didn't say anything because I don't know what I'm looking for either. Sentinel intercepted a coded transmission a while back, evidently there's something hidden on the academy grounds, and this interloper is after it. I intend to stop them."

"That's it? We're wasting time getting beat up just to interrupt somebody's scavenger hunt? Can't we just let them have it? I highly doubt anyone's hidden a WMD in a high school."

"It could be nothing of course, but tell me Matsuda, what happens if there really is a WMD or something of equal importance hidden here. No one sends a message encrypted with over 500 layers of protection for a simple scavenger hunt. I refuse to wake up to the end of the world just because I turned a blind eye. I don't think you would leave it up to chance either."

Motohama let out a sigh at Issei's logic. "And our visitors have proven invisible to all our scanners, meaning whatever they are, they aren't alien or extradimensional beings. Haaah, why can't things ever be easy, is it too much to ask?"

"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't leave it up to chance either, hmmmm… they'll be leaving for Kyoto tomorrow won't they, if they're going to do something, it'll be tonight. I need to return to base now, make sure the spy sat's still working right. Issei, you'll be here on lookout won't you? If they do make a move and everything goes pear shaped, drop a marker, I'll be there asap."

"My _eyes_ are open again, I'll be heading back as well, if any of our visitors manage to avoid them I'll give you a heads up. On a side note, one of them is currently in the old school building meeting with the Occult Research Club. That's where your sister is isn't it? I don't sense any hostility at the moment, just thought you'd appreciate the warning." Motohama rose to his feet after giving Issei that last bit of information as he and Matsuda prepared to leave.

Neither missed the narrowing of Issei's eyes or the brief flash of pure unadulterated rage that flickered across his face. "I… see… well as long as Haruna-nee is alright, everything's fine. The bastard tries anything and there won't be enough left of him to bury."

Abandoning his initial plan of remaining behind to simply observe the school grounds from the window, Issei stood and made for the door. "Just in case, I think I'll take a walk near the old school building."

Motohama and Matsuda exchanged a glance before following him out the door.

-line break

"I trust Kuoh has been to your liking thus far?"

"Indeed it has Lady Gremory, this is a fine school and Kuoh itself has been a wonder to explore, it's not Kyoto but it has its own charm."

Two elegant beauties sat opposite each other drinking tea. One was a busty crimson haired bishoujo and the other a pale raven haired girl who exuded a sense of coldness. The red head was Rias Gremory, one of the two devils in charge of Kuoh and the other was a member of the Kyoto Yokai faction named Kuroyuki.

Standing by Rias side was her queen Akeno Himejima, taking the opportunity to refill their half empty tea cups, Akeno coolly regarded their guest. Something about the girl rubbed her wrong, she was hiding something for sure, a quick glance at her king told her that Rias had already picked up on it and was just bidding her time. Trusting her king, Akeno opted not to say anything and just watch.

"That is to be expected after all, few places would be able to match the history and culture of Kyoto. It must be nice living there."

"You flatter us Lady Gremory, we welcome you to visit anytime. I assure you, our hospitality is unmatched and Yasaka-sama would be most welcome to a deepening of ties between our factions."

"I would like that very much Kuroyuki-san, but I think that's enough of the pleasantries. While we welcome visitors, I'd like to know why the daughter of the legendary white death herself is here in person." Rias questioned.

"My, my, such suspicion, do you treat all your guests this way or is it just me? No need to be so cold Lady Gremory, I'm just here on a social visit, my mother thought it'd be a good time to get to know our neighbours." A small smile sat on Kuroyuki's face as she continued to drink her tea in peace, unconcerned with the suspicion being directed her way.

Rias twitched at the insult but pressed on with the questioning anyway. "Oh? I meant no offense Kuroyuki-san, but your name was added to the list of exchange students at the last minute, and I must admit to being most curious about that. I am responsible for the continued safety of Kuoh and you must understand that even if we're friends I must take the necessary precautions."

"The visit was a last-minute decision… that's not going to fly, is it? Fufufu, well I won't try to hide it any longer." Kuroyuki paused to take a sip of tea, the small smile never leaving her face. Letting out a sigh of contentment, she took the moment to be amused by Rias efforts to keep her annoyance from being shown before continuing.

"Yasaka-sama's efforts to foster peace between factions has its share of critics, much like your own maou do. It is a shame that some would prefer to use force of arms to see their ideals through instead of settling things diplomatically."

The Gremory heiress fought down the urge to tear her hair out in exasperation. "That is no secret, and I fail to see the connection between that and your current visit. Unless of course one of your… rebels is planning to attack Kuoh?"

"Impatient aren't we? Rest assured, it's nothing of the sort, there will be no conflict here once I've settled things. It's just ah… a rebel agent is among the exchange students and whoever it is, is here to retrieve a package for their cause."

"WHAT!? And you didn't inform me of the danger? This is unacceptable!" Slamming her hands on the table, Rias burst out in anger, only for Kuroyuki to remain completely unfazed.

"Such anger ill becomes you Lady Gremory, your peerage and the civilians are in no danger. The rebel agent is human, of that we are sure of. Their quarrel is with Yasaka-sama's government and their main objective is to spirit their package back to their base. It is highly unlikely they'll do anything to attract attention to themselves and risk losing their prize."

"Oh, is that so? Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. And what are they looking for?"

"Our sources say it is a weapon from an age long gone, buried deep beneath the ground this school stands on. So far, they've made no moves but I expect them to do so later tonight, this is the last day after all."

"A weapon… wonderful, and I suppose it never occurred to you that they might decide to test it out here?"

"That is a possibility, but I highly doubt it, our little spy is just the courier, I expect him to be well trained in stealth and proficient at escaping and that's it. If by some chance, they have a sizeable force on hand to reinforce him, it means your borders aren't as secure as you think they are and you have traitors of your own to worry about."

"Grrrr, and I suppose I'm supposed to let you handle it?"

"That would be most appreciated. This is our problem and we'll take care of it, of course, once we've recovered the weapon it will be sent back to Kyoto as well. I know you wish to have your own soldiers watch the proceedings but due to the politicking back in Kyoto, I request that you don't. Any actions on your part will be used as ammunition against Yasaka-sama and neither of us wants that. Of course, our faction will naturally compensate you for the trouble and any damage that might be caused."

Rias furrowed her brows in frustration at Kuroyuki's request. Despite her desire to do otherwise, she had been instructed by her brother to provide any and all assistance to the Kyoto Yokai representative, even if it meant staying out of the way.

"FINE! We will do nothing but watch from a distance, and these are not my soldiers. They are my peerage and my family, if any of them get hurt as a result of your actions, so help me I will track you down to the ends of the world if I must to end you, the authorities be damned."

"Fufufu, it's nice to see a king caring so much for her subjects, although if anything goes wrong, chances are I'll be too dead for you to take your revenge on."

-line break

"Issei! What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Haruna-nee, I was just out for a walk and I uh, I heard one of the exchange students was in the area and I uh…"

"You wanted to check her out didn't you? Oh Issei, what am I going to do with you? You could do so much better if you just toned down your perversion."

"Nonsense nee-chan, I live for the glory of oppai!"

Upon hearing that Hyoudou Haruna, Issei's adoptive older sister, buried her face in her hands and shook her head, her long brown hair swaying in the breeze. Allowing a long-suffering sigh to escape, she cursed the old man who corrupted her brother for the umpteenth time, she'd been trying to fix his rampant perversion for years now with little success.

After the rest of Rias peerage had cleared out of the club room to give their king and her guest some privacy, she'd run into Issei outside the building and immediately gone over to him.

"Baka otouto, if you just cut down a bit you might just find an actual girlfriend, anyway I don't think I need to tell you not to harass the exchange students now do I? Anyways, the exchange student you're looking for is an old friend of Rias buchou, please don't cause any trouble, for my sake if nothing else."

"Hai nee-chan! You can count on me!" His initial plan to investigate the visitor foiled by his sister's sudden appearance, Issei wisely chose to leave it be and vacate the area before anyone grows suspicious. His sister was alright, and that would have to be enough for now.

"Oh yeah, nee-chan, I'll be sleeping over at Matsuda's place later, tell kaa-san and tou-san not to wait up for me alright?"

"Fine, fine, just… don't go overboard with your… activities… alright?" Sighing again, Haruna decided not to think about what her little brother would be up to later. Watching Issei leave, she shook her head and returned into the building.

 **[Hmmph, the boy is honest about his desires at the very least. As long as he is with his friends later he should be safe.]**

'I hope so Ddraig, you think there'll be a fight again?'

 **[That girl from Kyoto, I don't know her but I do know of her mother. The infamous white death, she was responsible for the deaths of my previous two hosts, and her daughter does take after her. She is strong, stronger than you make no mistake about that. In my experience, someone like that doesn't just show up on a whim without trouble following.]**

'I hope you're wrong Ddraig, I really do.'

 **[Hmmph, I hope so as well Haruna, hurry and get to training. We need to unlock balance breaker soon, if not for this then for that yakitori bastard.]**

'Right.'

-line break

Issei sat atop the rooftop of Kuoh Academy's main school building while doing his best to suppress a yawn. 'God damn, it's midnight and still no action. This is more boring than I expected.'

He'd been seated on the roof overlooking the entire school grounds for nearly six hours now and there was still no sign of his target appearing. Issei was beginning to suspect his intel was faulty and there really was no threat after all.

'Come on already, if they only act at 3 am in the morning, I will be really pissed.' Not for the first time that night, Issei cursed his optical camouflage for being unable to suppress sound. Not being able to move or make a noise for so long was eating into his patience, but it was necessary to keep his cover from being blown.

Sweeping his eyes across the school grounds once more, Issei was about to swear again when a brief burst of movement caught his eyes. A shadow had emerged from the foliage and scaled the school fence in rapid succession.

'Jackpot' Issei noiselessly sent a message to both of his compatriots about the possible intruder being spotted before returning his attention to the newcomer.

The shadow was taking great pains to avoid the open ground by skirting the outskirts of the field and staying in the shadows as much as possible, unfortunately for him, that did little to hide him from Issei's night vision.

'So, it's one of the guys huh? And there I was thinking it'd be that black-haired beauty, guess I was wrong after all. Sentinel, can you get a read on him?'

 **[Scans indicate target is 100% human and records show he goes by the name Shinn, how shall we proceed colonel?]**

'Stop calling me that, and for now we just watch. He tries anything funny and we move. Motohama's 'eyes' are still synced to your system, aren't they? If he goes into the building we'll still have visual on him, for now we remain here in case he's just a decoy.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

Issei didn't bother to reply and watched as the shadow slipped into the school building via an open window and disappeared from sight. Thus far things were still within expected parameters and he wasn't too worried yet.

His eyes did widen slightly when he spotted Kuroyuki scaling the fence as well and rushing into the building the shadow had just disappeared into. Neither of them had done anything overtly threatening yet aside from breaking and entering and thus Issei didn't immediately go after them, expecting to be able to apprehend the both of them once they tried to escape.

Perhaps due to his underestimating the opposition, Issei was caught off guard by the explosion that wiped out half the building next to him.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? SENTINEL, GIVE ME A SIT REP!"

 **[The exchange student Kuroyuki has encountered the exchange student Shinn and engaged in combat. Shinn activated an unknown explosive device to kill Kuroyuki upon seeing her. Sensors have been obscured by smoke, current situation unclear.]**

"Shit! I need to get down there." Jumping to his feet, Issei leapt of the roof and landed on his feet. Rushing into the burning building, Issei hoped his overconfidence hadn't caused any irreparable harm.

Upon entering the building, he was more than a little surprised to see some of the walls coated in black ice that didn't seem to be melting even in the heat. Rushing in deeper, he followed the trail of destruction as it led deeper into the school until his ears eventually picked up the sound of combat.

The clashing of blades was coming from the gym, Issei growled and ensured his optical camouflage was still working before silently making his way into the ruined gym. Slipping through the wrecked doors, Issei took in the sight calmly despite the outlandishness of it all.

Kuroyuki was kneeling and breathing hard near the bleachers in the centre of what looked to be a localised blizzard. Shinn stood in the middle of the gym, a smug smile plastered across his face while wielding a pitch black katana in his right hand. Back against the wall, Issei remained cloaked and resolved to watch the proceedings before making his judgement, no sense in giving up the element of surprise after all.

"Bet you weren't expecting this now were you, Kuroyuki-dono. I must admit I was not expecting the daughter of the white death to come personally, but killing you is such a nice bonus. I will enjoy sending you back to your mother in pieces, ahhh… just the thought of making her hurt fills me with such joy!" Demented laughter continued to spill from Shinn as he towered over his downed opponent.

Gritting her teeth in pain, Kuroyuki rose to her feet unsteadily. "Ke-keep dreaming asshole, my death will avail you nothing. My mother won't even care if I'm dead, I'm just another failure in her eyes after all. And you, you would work for tho-those warmongers? You're human are you not? Don't you know that they'll just have you killed once they no longer have need of you?"

"HAHAHAHA! I don't care about all that, I just want to kill! Watching as your victims bleed out in misery, their faces contorted in fear and pain… it is exquisite. If they try to off me, I do so welcome them to try, more for me to kill, teehehehehe isn't life wonderful?"

"You're mad."

"I'm not mad, just differently sane. But don't worry, your beloved Yasaka-dono will be joining you in the afterlife soon enough, and then this world will be engulfed in flames once again AHAHAHAHA!"

Smug smile still present, Shinn abruptly tilted his head at a sharp angle with a sickening crack as a bolt of ice flew through the area his head just vacated. Subsequent projectiles he simply cut down with his katana that seemed to glow with every swing.

"I won't let you succeed bastard." Kuroyuki managed to spit out the words even as she struggled to stay conscious from the pain. Shinn's earlier bomb had caused a lot more damage to her than she initially expected, her side burned in agony and if she didn't end things fast it would all be over.

"Nice try girlie, but not good enough. You know, my employers wanted me to bring the sword back to them as soon as I retrieved it, but I think I'll test it out on you first, to make sure it's the real deal ya know?" Shinn giggled as he retrieved a fist sized crystal from within his clothes and crushed it in his hands.

As the shattered pieces of crystal hit the gym floor, they began to glow and the floor started to warp. Issei stared in fascination as the floor rippled and the hilt of a katana rose up through the ground, followed by a blade so frayed Issei was surprised it hadn't already shattered into pieces.

Before the eyes of the three present, the blade began to reforge itself, returning to its original glory.

Shinn stared at his prize with glee, just a few moments more and it would be his. "Do you see it? The beauty of the ultimate killing machine. This sword has reaped the lives of thousands, it's not a Muramasa sword, it is _the_ Muramasa sword, the original and his greatest masterpiece. The perfect weapon to usher in a new age of war don't you think?"

As he reached out to the blade, it seemed to be calling to him, promising him endless amounts of bloodshed if he would just claim it as his own and his dark grin only grew larger. But just as his hands were about to close around the hilt, it vanished from his grasp. "WHAT!?"

Looking around in shock, he could find no one. Kuroyuki hadn't moved from her position and the blade was not in her possession. "What trickery is this!? Where. Is. My. SWORD! I will- ugh!"

Any further noise from him was cut off by an invisible blade sprouting from his chest. Shinn stared in mute horror as his blood seemingly clung to thin air and dripped to the floor before the blade was wrenched out of his body. Shinn gasped as his death caught up with him, the blade had gone straight through his heart and he sank to his knees before keeling over.

"So, you really are more than just a simple pervert. Which peerage do you belong to?"

The air rippled and Issei faded into view Muramasa blade in hand, his optical camouflage no longer activated. "Peerage? What's that? And what gave me away anyhow? I thought I did a good job concealing my presence."

"I am a Yuki-onna after all, you may have been invisible but I can still detect your body heat. Who are you anyway, if you're not connected to the peerages why are you here?"

"Again, what is a peerage? And shouldn't I be asking you that? This is my school, Kuoh is my home, that's all the reason I need to defend this place, and now I have one corpse and one unknown to deal with. Ah… never mind, that can be dealt with later, first to kill a bastard who won't stay dead." Issei shrugged and deftly sidestepped as a black katana came close to taking his head.

"I don't know who you are boy, but you will die for that." Giving a bloody grin, Shinn rushed Issei slashing with his blade all the way. "You're pretty healthy for a guy who just got stabbed through the heart, care to share the secret?"

"Screw you boy, you really think I'm going to tell you? I'm gonna cut off your head and shit down your throat!" Shinn roared in anger as Issei continued to dodge in an unhurried manner, none of his strikes even coming close to hitting.

"That… is an image I did not need, oh well, this is hardly the first I have to put up with idiots who just won't die when I kill them. I just have to get creative with how to stop you." Having said his piece, Issei began his counterattack.

Unlike the Shinn's frenzied blows, Issei bided his time waiting for openings before lashing out with the Muramasa blade, each strike connecting without fail. Locking blades with his opponent, Issei noticed that Shinn was swallowing every time he landed a strike, immediately after his wounds would stop bleeding.

"So that's it, some kind of healing pill. How unoriginal, question is how many more times I'll have to kill you before you run out." As Shinn's face paled, Issei knew he'd struck jackpot. Increasing the amount of force behind his blade, he forced the deranged swordsman backwards.

 **[Colonel, your opponent is holding back. I recommend being wary of a trap]**

'I am well aware of that Sentinel, but then, so are we.'

Despite his caution, Issei was still caught off guard by Shinn's swift stab forward, unable to tilt his head to the side in time, Shinn's blade scored a large cut across his cheek. Wincing as the wound burned, Issei noticed the abnormality immediately.

'It burns more than it should and it's not healing… poison?'

 **[Negative colonel, scans indicate unknown energy in the wound. It is of the same nature as the twice critical. Hypothesis, the blade is a sacred gear or a similar enchanted object. Shall I began regeneration?]**

Upon landing the hit and watching Issei bleed for the first time since the battle began, Shinn's demented grin returned and he began laughing once more. "Hurts, doesn't it? That wound will not heal and you will bleed out from it. Muramasa blades are wonderful are they not? This toy can't compare to the sword you stole but… it's enough to get the job done."

Any further gloating was cut off as multiple spikes of ice erupted from the floor seeking to impale him. Shattering the initial spikes with his blade, Shinn leapt away from the danger zone and stabbed his blade into the ground.

Kuroyuki frowned as her powers failed to conjure anymore spikes to attack. Whatever Shinn had done, it had nullified her ability to summon ice from the ground. "If his sword is a real Muramasa blade, you should fall back boy, if you take anything more than that scratch, you'll be dead before I can get help. This isn't your fight, I'll handle him."

"Handle me? Hahahahaha, you overestimate yourself bitch, what can you possibly do in your condition? And you assume I'm going to leave you alive long enough to get help, I assure you, that's not happening."

Issei fingered his wound as blood continued to pour from it. "This sucks, I liked this shirt. And it's a good thing I don't actually heal, I just replace whatever's damaged." Running his finger along the wound one more time, both Kuroyuki and Shinn were startled to see the wound vanish without a trace, leaving behind unmarred skin.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! NOT EVEN A PHENEX CAN HEAL FROM A WOUND CAUSED BY A MURAMASA BLADE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Issei chuckled at Shinn's outburst. "I am… complicated."

"You… I don't know what kind of monster you are, and I don't care, you will not get in the way of my ambition. I will see this world in flames, nothing will stop-" His rant was cut off by Issei's blade stabbing straight through his throat. Completely unprepared for Issei materialising in front of him with a shower of blue sparks, Shinn was powerless to stop the attack.

"Yeah… I've heard enough. I have had enough war, anyone trying to start one will be stopped by me. Good luck swallowing your healing pill when your head is no longer attached to your neck." Wrenching out the blade in one move, Issei swiftly decapitated the madman with one swing.

Flicking the sword to remove the blood, Issei redirected his attention to Kuroyuki. "So… can I have an explanation now? I want to know why half of my school is in ruins, and start from the top please."

"Oh? You aren't going to be a gentleman and get a doctor first? I am injured you know." "Was injured, I can see that your wounds have already healed, no need to pretend to be wounded."

"Perceptive aren't you." Issei resisted the urge to smirk as Kuroyuki stopped pretending and stood normally, she may have healed but her clothes were still torn in places, exposing a fair amount of skin for Issei to appreciate. Battle hardened warrior he may have been, he was still a pervert at his core. "It comes with the job Kuroyuki-chan, now my explanation if you would?"

"You will have your explanation, but not right now. This night has been a mess and since you're unaffiliated with the peerages, your continued presence here poses a problem." Kuroyuki tossed her battered phone at Issei who plucked it out of the air. "You have no reason to trust me, but on account of how we're both opposed to war, I ask that you give me some time to settle the situation on my end. I will contact you on that phone later, I am grateful for your help but for now I need you to leave, the school needs to be fixed up by morning and I have no wish to see another conflict between you and the clean-up crew."

Issei huffed once before pocketing the phone. "Very well, I will give you this chance, make no mistake though, we aren't friends… yet. If you prove unworthy of my trust, I will end you the next time we meet. Until then, have a good day Kuroyuki-chan."

With that, Issei turned his back on the Yuki-onna and left. The air around him rippled again and he once more faded from view. This time, Kuroyuki was slightly perturbed that this time she was no longer able to sense Issei's body heat and thus had no way of telling if he had truly left the scene.

'Interesting boy… he didn't seem aware of the supernatural either. If he's not already part of any faction I wonder if I could convince him to be Yasaka-sama's ally.' She blinked once as she felt Rias presence approaching and belatedly noticed the sword she'd come to retrieve was nowhere in sight.

"My, my, he took the sword too, and he wasn't overwhelmed by the curse… how interesting. I think I'll stick around for a bit longer." As Kuroyuki caught sight of Rias and Akeno bursting in through the door, a small smile grew across her face. Things were about to get interesting indeed.

* * *

Author's notes: this is my first fanfic ever and I appreciate any and all comments on my work. In this story, Issei is not the Sekiryuutei and only possesses a twice critical with a few modifications. He is still largely unaware of the supernatural but has been dealing with extraordinary situations on a regular basis by this point in the story. His two buddies are much the same. Matsuda is inspired by the unkindled from dark souls 3 and Motohama is basically the hunter from bloodborne. There will be a few OCs of my own creation thrown in to the mix as well. I do hope you all enjoy my work. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 2** : Trouble on the horizon

The school day passed quickly for the perverted trio and as soon as the bell rang they made for an empty classroom to discuss the events of the previous night. Issei was surprised to see the destroyed sections of the school had been restored to its original condition but took it in stride, he'd seen stranger things after all.

"So… who wants to go first?" Issei looked around and with no answers forthcoming decided to be the one to break the ice. "Alright, me it is. Sentinel has forwarded the battle report to the both of you I believe, I don't particularly have much to add other than we might have a war on our hands."

Motohama frowned upon hearing Issei's words before voicing his own opinion. "We'll make sure it doesn't come to that. One thing eludes me though, according to Sentinel's report the entire conflict lasted twenty minutes from the initial explosion. Except I was dark for only twenty seconds, I didn't get your message until after my eyes were back online. The school was completely intact after that as well. I didn't catch any explosion or sudden bursts of energy either."

"On my end, I was paying attention to the satellite feed, there was no explosion though I did pick up the two exchange students rushing in and you leaving the school shortly after they entered."

Issei shrugged at Matsuda's input, "time dilation field perhaps? We don't know enough yet, but I'm meeting Kuroyuki-chan later for dinner, maybe I'll get my answers then." A silver gauntlet formed on Issei's left hand, a small crystal on his palm glowed gold and a hilt emerged from it. Swiftly pulling the sword free, Issei displayed his newly acquired Muramasa blade to his two buddies.

"Anyhow, this is the sword I retrieved from Shinn, it's a real piece of work lemme tell you that. This thing is capable of cutting through a solid slab of concrete like a hot knife through butter, and I did check, any wounds inflicted by this thing doesn't heal."

"Can I see that?" Motohama closely inspected the sword from top to bottom after Issei handed it over. Running a hand along the flat of the blade, he was mildly perturbed to see his fingers bleeding slightly after removing them.

"Well it does live up to the myths about Muramasa blades being bloodthirsty, I'll give it that." He paused and concentrated for a moment, a pale silver glow surrounded his hand for a brief moment before fading, taking the wound with it.

"Magic… I guess? I don't know the mechanics behind this weapon but so far it appears to be similar to my burial blade, the metal itself is imbued with energy, only my weapon deals damage to the soul, this thing is more interested in spilling as much blood as possible."

Huffing once, Motohama tossed it back to Issei. "If you didn't already notice, that weapon also works to incite bloodlust in its wielder. A soft voice in the back of the mind, pushing you to indulge in mass murder, insidious… reminds me of the great ones."

"Really now? I thought that was just me coming off a battle high, well it doesn't seem to affect me as long as I store it in the twice critical." The blade glowed once before shattering into tiny motes of light that were absorbed by the silver gauntlet.

"Was it wise leaving her behind though? As it stands we still don't know who she's working with or if Shinn was acting alone. I don't have any agents on the ground and you can only get so much from a spy sat, our intel is spotty and I don't like that, couldn't you have stuck around to watch if nothing else Issei?"

"I could, but my invisibility has already been seen through once, twice if you count your sat picking it up. Who's to say her 'friends' can't do so as well? I'm not about to run the risk and get dragged into an unnecessary fight. Besides, she's upheld her promise to contact me again."

Matsuda scoffed at Issei's nonchalance. "And you don't think it's a trap of some sort? If they do have the ability to dilate time, you're on your own in there. Neither of us will make it to you in time."

"True. But you of all people should know that I have more than enough firepower to shoot my way out of any ambush. In any case worrying about it is useless, we'll just have to wait and see, oh and I will be keeping your involvement a secret for now. No sense in showing our hand this early in the game, so… yes dumb pervert act will continue for now."

Issei cracked a smile as his buddies groaned and buried their faces in their hands. 'Best to take precautions in any case, Sentinel any sign of our dear Kuroyuki-chan?'

 **[That's a negative colonel, she's off the grid and aside from the message she sent earlier there has been no further sign of her in Kuoh. Shall I continue looking?]**

'Please do so Sentinel, and one more thing…'

 **[Yes colonel?]**

'Stop calling me that.'

-line break

"That is quite a lot to take in Kuroyuki-chan, virtually every myth is real then… this complicates things." Issei clasped his hands together and lapsed into silence, his thoughts a complete mess.

Contrary to what he was expecting, his little meet up had gone off without a hitch. No ambush party had jumped him as soon as he walked through the door and Sentinel detected a distinct lack of explosives in the area.

The restaurant itself was perfectly ordinary and as far as he could tell, the few people present were regular humans. The duo occupied a window seat affording a decent view of the streets below and it would have been a romantic date if they weren't there on business.

Kuroyuki herself had been most forthcoming with answers to his questions, which led to his current headache. Most people don't wake up to find out that gods from every pantheon were real and effectively in a state of cold war with everyone else.

And beyond that, there were countless factions operating behind the scenes, each with their own agendas. Kuroyuki herself was the daughter of a high-ranking member of one such faction, the Kyoto yokai. Shinn on the other hand was a mercenary in the employ of an anti-government group seeking to reignite the flames of war that had been simmering for a while.

She didn't have much information on what they sought to gain from a new war, Shinn himself was just in it for the excuse to kill. All she knew was that his employers had been stockpiling weapons, ostensibly in preparation of a future attack.

"Kuroyuki-chan, I can't help but wonder about something. I checked my watch after last night's events and I seem to have lived an extra half hour the rest of the world never experienced, why is that?"

"The school grounds were enshrouded in a very powerful barrier that sped up time within. It is a simple concept, but very difficult to exercise in reality due to its absurdly high energy and material costs."

"Meaning whoever was bankrolling that operation has some serious money to throw around, and I would hardly call the ability to mess around with one of the fundamental principles of reality a simple concept. Is the rest of the mundane world really so far behind the supernatural?"

"Well, we have had a long time to work on our skills, and Mr Hyoudou, I still find it hard to believe you were unware of the supernatural until yesterday. As a man of your talents, I figured someone would have recruited you by now."

"You mean like what you're trying to do now? Hmmm, I've had to deal with quite a few extraordinary events in the past, but this is all news to me. As for being recruited by someone…" Issei trailed off as the face of a world weary old man missing an arm flashed in his mind. "I don't believe it's happened yet."

"Fufufu, you can't blame me for trying Mr Hyoudou, it's not every day one gets to meet an anomaly like you. I can tell you're still holding back your strength, Yasaka-sama could use someone like you as an ally… won't you consider it?"

"Hmmph, that's what I'm afraid of. I refuse to be another disposable pawn in a war I know nothing about. As I understand, most governments are involved in some seriously shady business of some sort to either keep their power or appease dissenters… when they don't just disappear them."

Kuroyuki simply shrugged when faced with Issei's scepticism, a 'what can you do' expression on her face. "I'd tell you that Yasaka-sama is different but you won't believe me. That's fine, all I ask is that you keep an open mind and if you ever do visit Kyoto you can see the truth of the matter for yourself. If we can't be allies at the very least we don't have to be enemies."

Taking a moment to consider it, Issei acceded to that request. "Next question, you did mention that while Japan is under the jurisdiction of the Shinto gods, Kuoh itself is administrated by two devils and their peerages. Who are they?"

"Ara? I've already answered so many of your questions up till now but I still know next to nothing about you. Isn't it your turn to answer my questions now?"

"A quid pro quo huh… very well, fire away. As long as those questions do not put anyone I care for at risk or intrude upon the privacy of others, I will answer them to the best of my ability." Issei leaned against the chair and prepared for the oncoming storm.

"Oh don't worry about that, it's nothing much, I just want to know who you are. I need to include it in my report to Yasaka-sama after all. You're not a normal human by any means, the ability to go invisible and teleport short distances… you're also clearly experienced with fighting. So, do tell."

"Nothing much to say really, I am Hyoudou Issei, adopted child of the Hyoudous and slightly above average pervert. About two years ago, I was involved in an… accident… of sorts. My memories of it are fuzzy but I was evidently hit by a car while on a hike. I was supposed to die that night, but fate had other plans." Issei paused at this point and looked around the place, seeing no one paying attention, he summoned his sacred gear under the table before displaying it to Kuroyuki.

"That's when this thing appeared." The raven-haired Yuki-onna stared at the gauntlet, not particularly impressed by it. "That is the sacred gear twice critical is it not? I fail to see the significance of it."

"I was getting to that part. Like I said, I got hit, took a tumble down the hill and broke god knows how many bones on the way down. This thing appeared right when I was about to give up, it attracted something… else."

Kuroyuki leaned in closer to listen to Issei's story. To the best of her knowledge, the activation of a sacred gear might spur on a sudden increase in healing ability, but it was relatively minor and nowhere near enough to save his life if he really was as wounded as he claimed to be.

"I can't go into details since I don't remember much of it myself, but a parasite tried to make me its host. It didn't go so well for either of us. The twice critical for lack of a better term absorbed it and used it to repair my broken body. It ended with both of us fused into a gestalt consciousness and me certifiably insane."

Kuroyuki raised one eyebrow at that, she'd never heard of any sacred gear being able to absorb another entity and fuse it with its wielder. Sure, she'd heard of pacts between users and magical creatures to increase the power of the sacred gear but never something like this. "You appear to be quite sane though."

"Hmmph, I got better. Still, for a time I was out of control. I had zero means of controlling my new abilities and dealing with another presence in your mind trying to overwrite you isn't exactly easy. Believe or not, some old man found me in that state and managed to beat me down enough times that I stopped resisting. I spent the next two months in his care, learning to find myself again and how to deal with the… changes."

"An old man beat you down? Was he a member of one of the supernatural factions? He clearly isn't human if he was able to do that."

"No clue and I never said he was. Shishou was very guarded about his past. The only thing I know about him is that at the time he went by the name Nogiel, and even that is a relatively new alias. Once I was fully healed and in command of my faculties, he had me returned to my family while I was asleep before disappearing to god knows where. After that, well I've been training on my own, you saw the results of that."

"I see… I would like to meet this man one day. Well Mr Hyoudou, I won't press you for the rest of the story but I do hope you will trust me enough one day to share it."

"We'll just have to see. Now, who are the devils in charge of Kuoh."

"Worried about them, are we?"

Issei's expression hardened as a familiar rage rose up in him, only extensive practice allowed him to shove it down before he caused a scene. "I happen to have family and friends in Kuoh, I will never allow them to come to harm. If those devils leave them the hell alone, I will leave them be. If they are a threat to my precious people, I will terminate them, consequences be damned."

Kuroyuki found herself taken aback by Issei's vitriol, he'd been pretty laid back in the short time she'd known him. Even during the fight against Shinn, he'd treated it as more of a nuisance than something to get mad over. "You'd do that… even if it starts a war?"

"Yes, I would. The only reason I'm anti-war is so my people don't get dragged into it. But if they're going to die anyway, I will do everything in power to take as many of the bastards down as I can. If that means war so be it, I'm not nearly magnanimous enough to put the general public over the lives of those I care for. If it sounds selfish, that's because it is."

'He… he's actually serious. He's actually willing to go to war with the world if that's what it takes.' Stunned into silence by Issei's declaration, she tried and failed to come up with a response several times. Finally, she collected herself enough to speak.

"We-well I don't think that'll be a problem. As far as I know they've been here for quite a while now, you should know of them actually. Sona Sitri or Souna Shitori would be one, the other would be Rias Gremory. As far as I know, they are committed to keeping the peace."

"The student council president and the president of the occult research club?" Issei's face ran through a range of emotions upon hearing that before fading back into his original impassive one. 'Okay… so Souna-kaichou is a devil and so is Rias-sem…pai… OH SHIT! HARUNA!'

Letting none of his inner turmoil show on his face, Issei did his best to avoid jumping to conclusions too soon. "Alright… I need to clarify one thing. Both of them are leaders of their clubs, I need to know this, is everyone in them a member of their respective peerages?"

"I wouldn't be able to answer that, I didn't get the chance to meet all the members after all." Kuroyuki's honest answer failed to reassure Issei in the slightest "I see… thanks for answering."

'Sentinel. Increase surveillance on Kuoh academy, I want to know everything about these two and the company they keep, and I mean everything. Keep an eye on Haruna as well, I don't like intruding on her privacy like this but I'm not taking any chances.'

 **[Understood colonel. Shall I make preparations for the elimination of the devils as well?]**

'…Please do so. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.'

 **[Yes colonel.]**

Unsure of what Issei was thinking about, Kuroyuki decided to broach the other topic on her mind. "One more thing Mr Hyoudou, the sword you retrieved from Shinn last night, may I have it back?"

Pushing aside his fears, Issei did his best to focus on the here and now. "The Muramasa sword huh… any particular reason why I should hand it over? I did claim it by right of conquest after all."

"Well, the blade is cursed, it has a storied past in that regard. Wielders eventually go mad from the bloodlust and rampage until they are cut down. Even if they try not to touch the blade, they will eventually give in to its whispers and become a puppet. Surely you don't want to hurt the people around you because of the curse, Yasaka-sama's government has already made preparations to have the sword sealed away where it can't cause anymore mayhem."

"Yes… well it's a good thing I can store it in a place where the curse won't affect me, as for while it's in use. Hahaha… I'm no stranger to having voices in my head."

"…I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, now am I? Very well, I won't force the issue. I do believe that concludes our business for the night. I am needed back in Kyoto to report on the situation, you don't mind if I report your actions as that of a potential ally now do you?"

"Do as you will, I bear your people no ill will. Perhaps there will come a day where we will be true allies. You don't need an escort back to Kyoto, do you? I cannot confirm if Shinn has any allies waiting for revenge."

"I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer anyways Mr Hyoudou." With that, both settled their bills and parted ways. Stepping out into the cool night air, Issei exhaled a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "Hmmph, the more I learn the less I really know. Please tell me you got all that Matsuda because I feel a headache coming on and I don't want to think about this anymore."

"Yeah I did. Holy shit, this is gonna give the spooks a massive work out. How the hell did no one pick up on this? This is big… I need to report in to high command about this. If we can reverse engineer their magic we could turn the tide of the war for good." Matsuda's excited voice came through a small, nigh invisible earpiece.

"Let's not get too excited yet, there's no guarantee it'll work. In any case, should we inform Motohama about this? I'm not very confident in my ability to stop him if he decides to go off on another crusade."

"Ah right… he's still violently opposed to the church, isn't he? Well shit, that just complicates things. I'll look into the records, if Kuroyuki's information is accurate, I should find some evidence in history. Even if they can manipulate memories, I don't believe they'll be able to erase all evidence so easily. I'll look up the church as well, if they're the same people as the ones from his past… I've already made arrangements for our funeral."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy." Issei replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His brow began to twitch after receiving a cheerful 'no problem' in response. Hearing the distinctive click of Matsuda hanging up, he sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

His mind still a mess, Issei wasn't ready to return home and face the possibility that his beloved elder sister might no longer be human. Forcing down his fears once more, he decided to simply stroll around, allowing the night air to cool him down.

-line break

After mindlessly walking for an hour, Issei's feet led him to a small park tucked away in a small corner of the urban jungle. Taking a seat on one of the many benches, Issei stared at the deserted playground in silence, enjoying the solitude for however long he had left.

 **[Colonel, shall we engage?]**

'No. They haven't done anything yet and if they leave us be I am willing to ignore them. And stop calling me that.'

 **[Colonel, it is statistically impossible that they will leave in peace. They have been following us for the past 30 minutes now and they have the park surrounded. Recommendation, first strike.]**

Issei sighed at Sentinel's analysis of the situation. 'A guy can dream, can't he? They haven't done anything yet though, maybe they just want to talk. If they do attack, at least I can use the excuse of self-defence.'

 **[Noted colonel.]**

Issei didn't have to wait long for his stalkers to show themselves. The shrubbery in front of him rustled as a cold wind blew by and a single figure emerged from the shadows. Taking note of his appearance, the newcomer was fairly ordinary. A middle-aged man in a trench coat and fedora, a little strange for the weather perhaps but nothing too out of place.

"Hello stranger, nice night, isn't it?" Calling out a greeting to the man, Issei looked relaxed on the surface but was tense and ready to react at the drop of a hat. "Yes… it is a nice night. What's a good kid like you doing all the way out here? Don't you know it's dangerous to wander around alone late at night. Come on, I'll get you home, don't want anything bad to happen now do we."

*cough* "Bullshit" *cough*

"Excuse me?" Issei deadpanned at the stranger's reaction. "If you're going to feed me a steaming pile of bull crap at least try to make it smell like something other than shit. Just how dumb do you think I am? And you can call the rest of your buddies out as well, I've had a loooong day and I am not in the mood to deal with any bullshit from anyone."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Cut the crap asshole. I know you've been following me for the last half hour. And those buddies of yours are doing a piss poor job of staying hidden, I can see them you know." Issei made a show of pointing out the hiding spots of all twenty of his still hidden stalkers with one finger, a bored look on his face all the way.

With their cover blown, they emerged from the shadows. Twenty men dressed in a variant of priestly attire, all wielding strange looking pistols and a sword hilt without a blade.

"Heh, not bad boy, you actually spotted us. We have you outnumbered, will you come with us peacefully or do we have to use force?" Smacking his fist into his palm, the fedora man smiled sadistically, his manner promising great pain if Issei didn't comply. Possibly great pain even if he did. "Please… resist."

He was disturbed to see Issei completely failing to react to being surrounded and his intimidation. The boy didn't beg, didn't panic, didn't put forth a show of bravado. He didn't even try to bargain his way out of the mess, just sitting there with his hands folded, the bored look never leaving his face.

"Well? What's it gonna be boy?" Issei blinked once slowly after being addressed. "You're still talking? What part of cut the bullshit didn't you understand. I have had a long day and right now I just want to go home and sleep it all off. Hurry up and attack me already, shoot me, stab me I don't care. Just do something so when I kill your asses I get the self-defence excuse."

Seeing their target completely writing them off as a threat, the false priests bristled with anger and tightened their grips on their weapons, waiting for their boss's orders to teach the upstart a lesson.

"There is a fine line between courage and suicidal overconfidence boy, you're so far over it, it'd be funny if it wasn't so sad. The name's Dohnaseek boy, remember it when I carve it into your flesh." A spear of magenta light formed in his hand, Issei merely stared at it with mild curiosity.

Dohnaseek of course had no intention of killing the boy, his master would be most displeased if he did so. But being completely disregarded like that annoyed him more than he cared to admit. As an angel who fell for the sin of pride, he would not allow such an insult to stand.

Aiming for Issei's right leg, he tossed the spear at a slow enough speed for Issei to dodge but still packing enough force to scare the boy. It doubled as a signal for one of his men to approach Issei from the back while his attention was occupied by the spear.

His target once again defied all expectations. Issei simply took the spear head on without flinching, allowing the light weapon to bury itself in his leg, nearly severing the thing. Dohnaseek wasn't expecting that and clearly neither was the man creeping up on Issei as both stopped their actions to stare at the boy.

The target in question for his part merely looked down at the spear, turned to Dohnaseek stared him in the eye for a bit before returning his attention to the shaft of light buried in his body. Deadpanning, Issei regarded Dohnaseek with a look that spoke volumes of just how much he thought the fallen angel was an idiot.

"Are… you… serious… I gave you one free hit. You could have gone for a headshot, or centre mass if your aim is poor. Instead… you stab me through the foot. Are you that poor of a shot or just plain stupid, I can't really tell at this point. Whatever, it doesn't concern me, now ahem… oh noes! I've just been attacked by a bunch of thugs who want to kill me. My leg is injured and I can't escape. Whatever shall I do? I know, I'll just have to do my best to defend myself here. Blah blah blah, I think that should do it."

Neither the fallen angel nor his stray exorcists knew how to react to the boy who had delivered his lines in a complete monotone while completely ignoring the spear that had effective amputated his leg. Their earlier confidence at a quick takedown had evaporated in the face of this strange kid.

"No need to ask where your god is boys, cause he's right here. And he's fresh out of mercy." The nerve of the exorcist closest to Issei failed and he tried to make a break for it. He didn't get far.

Twenty silver spikes erupted from the ground, skewering all the rouges in one go. Impaled from the groin all the way to the head with the tip of the spikes running on for another metre, they didn't suffer very long.

Dohnaseek took a step back in shock. This was not part of the plan, their target was a simple kid, brother to the Sekiryuutei who was just reincarnated as devil recently. He wasn't supposed to be a bigger threat than the girl!

Those twenty exorcists may not have been the best but they were experienced, for them to be taken out so easily… suddenly, Dohnaseek wasn't very sure about his chances anymore.

"What the hell!? Jibril never mentioned anything about this."

"Am I supposed to know who that is or care? You know, if you'd just left me alone none of this would have happened and your men would still be alive. But you just couldn't let sleeping dogs lie, now could you?"

Panicking now, Dohnaseek hurled another light spear, this time impaling Issei through his left eye. Without bothering to check if his target was dead, he spread his wings and tried to escape.

Like his earlier minion, he failed to make it very far. A sharp burst of pain lanced through him as his back screamed in agony. Crashing to the ground and struggling to stay awake from the pain, he was dimly aware that one of his wings had been burned clean off at the joint, only a stump left behind.

Mustering whatever strength he had left, he attempted to crawl away, to put as much distance between him and the monster he unknowingly provoked.

His progress was once more halted by Issei teleporting in front of him in a shower of blue sparks. Looking up at him, the fallen could see that the wounds he inflicted were still there in all their goriness.

Right leg missing a significant chunk of flesh yet still somehow supporting weight, the edges of the wound had been charred black by prolonged exposure to the light spear. Issei's head wound on the other hand was far more terrifying. The spear had gone clean through, leaving a hole through which Dohnaseek could see the moon behind him.

This time the light spear hadn't been left in the wound long enough to cauterize it. Blood, brain fluid, pulverised pieces of bone and grey matter continuously leaked from it, pouring down Issei's face and painting half of it black in the dim light.

All in all, it was a scene straight out of a horror movie, and never in a million years would Dohnaseek expect to be the hunted instead of the hunter. Despite the urge to scream from the pain, his voice died in his throat as he stared at the nightmare before him in mute horror.

His terror increased tenfold as the nightmare continued speaking as though his wounds didn't bother him in the slightest, something that was a distinct possibility.

"How rude, I only gave you one freebie, was the spear to the eye really necessary? In any case you're coming with me, I have questions and you will answer if you know what's good for you. But… for now it's late and I want to sleep, guess I'll just have to deal with you tomorrow. For now sweet nightmares little crow."

The last thing Dohnaseek saw was the demented smile on his tormentor's face as he raised his damaged foot and brought it down on his face. After that, darkness claimed him and he knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 3** : Bloodhounds and strays

-flashback

"You'll never beat him. Jibril is too strong, he's killed everyone who ever stood against him." Dohnaseek's bloody form managed to spit out. "You go after him and he'll kill you, then he'll kill your sister again."

Issei looked down on his captive with disgust. "I am many things Dohnaseek, a coward isn't one of them. So what if Jibril is more powerful than most? Unlike you, I'm not going to just stand by and let him do as he please. You say he murdered your best friends and you hate his guts for that, yet you still work for him? Disgusting."

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE CRUSHED EVEN AFTER GIVING YOUR BEST… I've… I've already lost too much. If serving him like a dog means I don't lose anymore… I don't have the strength to resist him anyway." A sudden burst of rage gave the captive fallen angel the strength to rail against his warden before fading away as his own powerlessness caught up with him once more.

Allowing himself to sink back to the ground without struggling against his restraints any further, he was the perfect example of a man beaten down by the world so many times until he couldn't carry on anymore. Despite himself, Issei felt a twinge of pity well up in him.

"What wouldn't I know? I've been through more than you can possibly imagine, yet, do I look like I've given up? If you're too weak to win, then grow stronger. If you can't grow stronger than increase your knowledge. You've only lost when you've given up even trying."

"It's… not that simple. Jibril is on a completely different level, he's strong enough to challenge Kokabiel-sama and win. You march to your death boy, there is very little he hasn't seen. Your tricks won't work on him."

"Hahahahaha… trust me, he's never met anyone like me before. I will kill him for his sins, and… if I do happen to find them, I might just free those friends of yours still held hostage."

For the first time in a very long while, hope stirred in Dohnaseek's heart. Issei's words didn't have any conviction in them, but they were spoken in such a matter of fact tone that he implied victory was already an immutable truth. "Heh, then I wish you the best of luck… whatever you are."

"I don't need luck… as to what I am… I am complicated."

-flashback end

Issei grunted in exertion as he dragged the still struggling stray exorcist into the shadows, once safely out of sight, Issei tightened his grip on the garrotte. Eyes bulging, the exorcist's desperate struggles intensified for a few moments more before his arms went limp and he stopped resisting.

Issei continued to apply pressure until he was sure the man wasn't faking it before allowing the body to drop to the floor. Taking a moment to rife through the man's pockets, Issei retrieved the light sword and pistol before storing them in his pack.

 **[Colonel, all targets have been eliminated. No further sign of hostiles. The path to the church is clear. Recommendation, disguise and infiltrate.]**

'Excellent news sentinel. And stop calling me that.' The air around Issei shimmered and his form was replaced by that of the man sprawled on the ground. Giving himself a once over, Issei found no fault with his holographic disguise and smiled to himself. 'Alright… this is good. Now just act natural and walk in.'

Leaving the corpse behind, Issei strolled to the church and entered without being challenged. To his surprise, the church was completely empty save one brown haired man in a black tuxedo standing at the altar. His back was towards Issei yet the boy knew the man's attention was focused on him.

"Took you long enough to get here. I was getting tired of waiting. It's been awhile hasn't it Issei?"

Dropping his disguise, Issei's face was marred by a vicious snarl. "Gael. I do not have time to deal with you today, get out of my way or die." Soft laughter emanated from the object of his animosity. "Is that how you treat an old friend? I'm hurt."

"Piss off asshole, I'm here for Jibril. I don't know why the church's attack dog is here and I honestly couldn't care less. Where. Is. He." Issei paused to look around the church's interior, taking note of the shadows that seemed to move in the dim light. "And I see you brought the rest of the bloodhounds with you."

Soft laughter again. Gael turned to face Issei, moving his face into the light. It would be considered handsome if not for one thing, four ugly scars ran along the right side of his face and across his eye. "Yes… I figured you'd say that. See, I can't let you kill him just yet. I'm looking for a certain someone and he has the information I need."

Summoning his twice critical, Issei withdrew the Muramasa blade and slid into a well-practiced stance. "And that is my problem how?"

Gael's muscles seemed to expand and his suit began to rip at the seams, his voice grew deeper, more guttural and his teeth sharpened into fangs. "I'm about to make it so." Without any prior warning, he leapt at Issei with unholy speed.

Ducking under the sudden leap, Issei slashed upwards but cut only air. Grunting in a mix of pain and frustration as Gael scored a long gash on his back during the pass, Issei picked up a nearby pew with his free hand and slammed it into Gael as though it were a baseball bat.

Satisfaction bloomed in him as his target went flying, crashing into a disused bookshelf and smashing it to splinters. It died quickly as Gael exploded out of the pile with an inhuman roar. Clothes completely shredded by this point, only scraps remained on him.

Sleek grey fur covered his body and a single bushy tail sprouted from his hindquarters. Face reshaped into a wolf's snout, twin rows of razor sharp teeth filled his mouth. Striding forward on four powerful limbs, his claws dug furrows into the ground. The only sign that this beast and Gael were one and the same was the scar on his face. Even more pronounced now than when he was human, the four slashes were pale white in colour and no fur grew there, a stark contrast to the rest of his body.

Easily the size of a grizzly bear, acidic drool leaked from its jaws sizzling as it ate holes in the flooring. Everything about it screamed imminent violence and death, even its tail was a weapon as a simple swing from it pulverised a nearby pillar.

Roaring at Issei, the werewolf lunged again, his form a flurry of slashing claws and teeth. Instead of dodging, Issei rushed forward and met Gael in a titanic clash at the centre of the church. Steel met claws and teeth in a violent shower of sparks, their violent confrontation wrecking everything around them. Pews were ground to dust and pillars smashed to rubble, the building itself seemed to shake under the stress.

Neither gave ground as they each gunned for their opponent's vitals. Gael's fur was matted with blood from countless cuts courtesy of Issei's swordsmanship. The constant bleeding was slowing him down and they both knew it. Issei himself didn't escape unharmed either. Face covered with a multitude of purple bruises, the gash across his back still pained him and Gael had scored a second deep cut in his side.

 **[Colonel, structural integrity is at 63%. Self-repair systems are impeded by the bloodhound's poison. Recommendation, retreat and purge or switch to assault mode.]**

'I am well aware of that Sentinel, but retreat is not an option. There's no need for assault mode just yet either, I got this.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

Breaking away from his opponent, Issei leapt backwards and slammed his gauntleted fist into the ground. Countless silver spikes burst from the ground seeking to impale Gael on them. He was annoyed to see the oversized wolfman dodge them all by jumping upwards and clinging to the ceiling but wasn't too upset about it, he never really expected the attack to land anyway.

"Tch, are you a mutt or a cat? Make up your mind, would you?" Issei mocked as he retrieved one of the light pistols he stole earlier and sent up a barrage of light bolts, scoring the ceiling with countless small holes.

" **Throwing insults now Issei? How juvenile."** Unperturbed by the insults in the least, Gael continued running on the ceiling avoiding Issei's shots. **"You don't seriously believe you'll be able to shoot me down do you? You're not Motohama after all, if he were here I'd already be dead."**

As Issei's gun clicked empty, he hurled the spent weapon at Gael with enough force to embed it in the ceiling, forcing the werewolf to jump away once more. "Yeah, I'm not as good as him, never claimed to be. But… I think I did good enough."

As Gael's claws found purchase on another section of the ceiling, he realised his tactical error. Issei's shooting wasn't meant to hit him, it was to destabilise the entire roof. With the ceiling already weakened from the countless destroyed support pillars, having additional holes poked into it completely erased the structure's ability to hold itself up.

Gael roared in frustration as the chunk of masonry he'd grabbed onto came loose and sent him tumbling to the ground. Unable to correct his fall, he was headed straight for the silver spikes Issei had summoned. Expecting to feel the pain of being impaled, he was treated to a boot to the face instead.

Constantly vanishing and reappearing in a burst of blue sparks, Issei was flashing all around Gael and pummelling him with an endless combination of blows, it had the additional benefit of keeping the bloodhound in the air and unable to do anything. With every blow coming from a dead angle, Gael could only flail around and take the hits.

Finally, Issei finished up by rematerializing in front of Gael's snout and roundhouse kicking him in it with tremendous force. Sent flying by the strike, his inhuman form crashed bodily into one of the last pillars still standing, turning it into rubble.

Unable to take any further abuse, the ceiling caved in and dumped a giant pile of rubble on his prone form. The rest of the roof would have collapsed inward as well if Issei hadn't used the opportunity to extend his silver spikes, forming a new set of support pillars. Forcing the metal to bend to his will, the tips of the spikes liquified and flowed into the cracks before solidifying again and effectively welding the ceiling back together.

A large chorus of growls greeted Issei's actions as multiple giant wolves emerged from the shadows they'd been waiting in. To say they didn't look happy at Issei's manhandling of their leader would have been an understatement. Glowing yellow eyes filled with bloodlust glared at Issei, promising pain and misery in the near future.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time, damn if it wasn't fun though. Relax you mangy mutts, I didn't kill him… you might want to drag him out of there though." Issei nonchalantly called out to the pack surrounding him, a satisfied smile on his face.

Two of the wolves closest to where Gael landed barked twice before a transformation overtook them. Fur receded and muscles shrank, their snouts retreated into their heads, claws and fangs morphed back into the regular human equivalents. Standing on two feet once more, they'd regressed into their human forms. Issei was surprised to see they were clothed in black stealth suits once the transformation finished.

The two wasted no time in digging up their commander from the rubble. Upon pulling him free, Gael was in bad shape. Having returned to human form, countless cuts crisscrossed his body and all were still bleeding profusely, it was a wonder he hadn't lost consciousness yet.

'Ah right… I forgot.' Stashing the Muramasa blade in his sacred gear once more, Issei watched as the rapid blood loss slowed to a trickle as soon as the blade was no longer in the physical world. One of Gael's men pulled out a glass vial with a needle at the end filled with a viscous crimson fluid and stabbed it into Gael's shoulder.

Immediately, his wounds stopped bleeding entirely and started to knit together. "Ahhhh… much better." Gael let out a sigh of relief as some of his pain faded away with the healing of his wounds. "That… is one terrifying weapon you have."

Issei shrugged and strode over to where Gael was still propped up by his subordinates. "It's no more terrifying than your accursed ashen blood poison. Gimme the antidote will you, it stings like hell and I don't feel like replacing entire organs again, it's more trouble than it's worth."

With a nod from Gael, a second vial was tossed to Issei, this one containing a greenish fluid. Plucking it out of the air mid-flight, Issei jammed it into his thigh and injected the contents. Exhaling a short gasp as the antidote seemed to both freeze and burn his insides at the same time, Issei noted the poison in his wounds being neutralised and his body was finally able to fix up his wounds.

"Well Issei? You got it all out of your system yet? Will you listen to my request now?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm feeling better now. Kicking your ass is always fun. I still want Jibril dead though, he went after my sister and I will not let that go unpunished." Issei stated his intentions in no uncertain terms. "I don't expect you to let it go, I just ask that you hold off executing him until I get what I need from him."

Issei paused to consider Gael's request for a brief moment. "That will depend on how long you expect me to wait. Jibril is still a threat to my family, every moment I delay ending him is another moment he could use to hurt my precious people."

"It shouldn't take very long, it is why half the bloodhound division is here right now. We'll work on tracking him down and then you bring him down. I just ask that you allow us to interrogate him before you execute him."

"Oh? You want, my, help… why not just do it yourself?" Gael just laughed at Issei's inquiry. "Dumb question, we're bloodhounds Issei. And last I checked, dogs can't fly. Jibril isn't your run of the mill would be despot, he's something… other. And that's where you come in Mr the skies belong to me Hyoudou Issei. We find him and you clip his wings… so to speak."

"You mean Jibril is a fallen angel." Upon noticing the look of surprise on Gael's face, Issei decided to elaborate a little. "Yeah I had my eyes opened quite recently. More paranormal bullshit to deal with in my opinion. I still can't believe you serve the church… after what they did to you all."

Gael huffed and looked skyward, reordering his thoughts as he sought to bury the painful memories Issei dragged up. "What can I say? It's a big world out there, the church is larger than just the rotten parts. The Choir was a rouge organisation hiding behind the garbs of priesthood, the rest of the church are comprised of good people. Sure, there are a few bad eggs, but I have faith it the seraphs. They gave me a reason to live again, something to fight for after… after everything that happened. It is enough for us, it is why we serve. The alternative is to be hunted down by Motohama after all, and I don't feel like dying such a pointless death just yet."

"Whatever floats your boat Gael, and for what it's worth I'm sorry I didn't make it in time."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault, we need to live in the present now. No sense in dwelling on the past, right now our objective is to hunt down Jibril. Currently he's left Kuoh for parts unknown and he's taken the bulk of his army with him. The strays you eliminated outside the church are the last of those he left behind here. We took care of the rest." Gael flashed a feral smile, barring teeth that were still far sharper than normal.

"Ah shit, he's not in Kuoh anymore? Crap, I don't have the time to hunt him across the world." Issei swore upon hearing Gael's report. "Relax boy, we've intercepted several messages from him to an unknown party. At this moment, we still don't know who his mystery partner is but we do know that his work in Kuoh isn't finished just yet. He'll be back and we'll be waiting."

"Thorough. I presume that's how you figured I'd be on my way here?"

"Yeah… he did make mention of a successful assassination of one Hyoudou Haruna, wasn't hard to connect the dots, was just a matter of time before you showed up at his base looking for him."

"I see. Well nothing I can do about that right now, no matter how much I want to grind his face into the dirt. Who are you searching for anyway, I have some contacts who might be able to find him or her. Saves the trouble of interrogation that way and I can get to the killing faster."

Gael thought about it for a while before acceding to his request. "Alright, no harm in having a few extra eyes on the lookout. We're searching for a missing nun, long blond hair and green eyes with the friendliest personality you can imagine, wouldn't hurt a fly and constantly trying to help people. Goes by the name of Asia."

-line break

"Any idea what happened here?" Sona Sitri stood on top of a hill overlooking the demolished church. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area and the police were all over the place investigating. It may have been abandoned for years but that was hardly a reason for the entire place to come crashing down over night.

Rias shook her head as she too stared at the rubble. "No clue, I was of the opinion that this place was being used as a base by several scouts from the Grigori. That doesn't explain why everything's been destroyed though, it's not like them to make such a mess even if they want to clean up."

"Internal conflict perhaps? A dispute between several fallen that turned violent?" Sona offered up several theories only to have them shot down by Rias. "No, I don't believe that's the case. You can feel it, can't you? The distinct lack of holy energy in the area. The fallen didn't do this, not by conventional means anyway."

"I'm open to suggestions Rias." The red-head merely shrugged, a look of helplessness on her face. "I don't know what to say Sona, there was definitely a battle here, Koneko can attest to that. In her words, the residual ki in the area is heavily corrupted, I think it's safe to assume that this was the result of a battle between two unknown parties instead of the crows being up to mischief."

"And the lack of bodies and blood?"

"Someone's already cleaned up the evidence before we arrived." The duo shared a moment of silence as they each tried to figure out the best way to do damage control. Having a church levelled in their territory by a battle between two unknown actors didn't give a very good impression on their capability to administer to the region.

The last thing either of them wanted at the moment was for their elder siblings to step in and to prevent that, they needed to get to the bottom of the matter as soon as possible without a repeat incident.

"We have no leads and two unknowns on the loose in Kuoh, possibly more. And to top it all off, the rouge fallen gunning for your new pawn are still out there. This does not bode well. I'm going to step up patrols with the familiars, hopefully that'll bring some results." A bitter smile sat on Sona's face as she acknowledged her current powerlessness.

"Yes… I'll do the same and have my peerage keep an eye open for anything suspicious as well. we've grown too lax in these peaceful times, maybe Koneko will be able to pick up their presence." Lapsing into silence once more, they stood overlooking the devastation for a few moments more before leaving.

-line break

Dinner that night was painful for Issei. For one, he had no idea on how he was supposed to broach the subject about his sister's death and reincarnation as a devil. Then there was the fact that conversation at the table seemed to revolve exclusively around his little 'excursion' the night before.

Every time his family members mentioned the destruction and how the culprits responsible must have been violent terrorists of some sort, it was as though his heart was being stabbed multiple times. Their insistence that he cut down on his 'sleepovers' with his two buddies was just the icing on the cake. Without the freedom to roam at night, his job got a whole lot harder.

Issei sighed for the umpteenth time as Haruna ragged on him to reconsider his plans and return home immediately after school.

"Haruna-nee, I'm more than capable of looking after myself. I won't go anywhere dangerous" _for me at least_

"And if I run into anyone suspicious, I'll run the other way and call the cops" _not._

"I'll be fine" _my opponents won't be._

"I'm just worried about you baka otouto, you're a magnet for trouble." 'can't exactly deny that' Issei sighed and buried his face in his hands, having an overprotective older sibling was nice but it could be seriously annoying at times. 'Well at least Gael's squad is on the lookout for Jibril and his cronies. I guess I could stay home for more often… once I sort out Dohnaseek anyway.'

 **[Colonel, message from Gael. One of Jibril's stray exorcists has returned to Kuoh. The target goes by the name Freed Sellzen, he is leaving it up to you to deal with him. Recommendation, capture, interrogate and terminate.]**

Issei resisted the urge to break out into a smile at Sentinel's news. 'Excellent, have him continue surveillance on this exorcist and focus our own systems on him. Have Gael pull his men back when we engage, I don't want any collateral damage.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

'One more thing Sentinel, stop calling me that.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

On Haruna's end, she wasn't able to comprehend why Issei was being so insistent on staying out, or why he was so confident in his ability to deal with any trouble. 'Is this what they call teenage rebellion? Oh… why can't he see that it's for his own good.'

 **[He might have a reason to be confident.]**

'Ddraig?'

 **[I wasn't paying attention to his aura in the past, but now that I am, it is different from a regular human… he might possess a sacred gear of his own and already have it activated. If that is the case, it would explain why he is so confident in his ability. Generally, a sacred gear wielder would be able to take on any normal human without a problem.]**

Eye's widening at that prospect, a twinge of worry shot through Haruna. 'But he isn't going to be dealing with humans. Whoever destroyed that church clearly wasn't… and there's still those fallen angels to worry about.' Haruna reflexively moved her hand to her abdomen where just a few days ago a light spear had impaled her. 'I need to stop him.'

 **[How do you intend to do that? If you bring up the fact that the danger might be supernatural in origin, you are going to have to explain your less than human nature and your 'death'. I don't see him reacting well to that. In the event that he isn't a sacred gear wielder, your king will not be happy you just revealed the truth about the supernatural to a regular human.]**

'I can't let him get hurt… maybe if I ask Rias-buchou she'll be able to keep an eye on him.'

-line break

"Fuck! What the hell are you!? Shitty devil lovers like you should just die!"

Freed Sellzen was not having a good night. Upon returning to Kuoh he was confronted with the fact that his place of residence had been completely levelled, leaving him out in the cold. Rightfully pissed, he'd gone out around town searching for a drink, when the barkeep turned him down for being _underage_ , he was about to stab the man when he detected the presence of a devil.

Leaving in search of his prey, he'd been led on a wild goose chase around the town only to end up back at the destroyed church with no sign of his target. At that point, he just wanted to cut someone up so bad it physically hurt.

Only his rage induced tantrum allowed him to dodge the bullet that would have gone right between his eyes as he ducked by accident. He didn't have much time to wonder about the shot as the tree next behind him exploded in a shower of splinters and came crashing down.

Speedy dodging allowed him to evade the next two rounds as well. Ducking behind a pile of discarded masonry from earlier clean up attempts, the stray exorcist was given a chance to gather his wits as no further bullets came at him.

No muzzle flash and no sound aside from the destruction of the trees, Freed had no idea who was shooting at him or from where. He was about to make a break for the tree line again when a fourth shot struck the rock he was hiding behind with a loud crack.

Leaping to his feet, he barely registered the sudden presence of blue sparks on the other side of the rock before the tip of a katana burst straight through the rock seeking to impale him. Once more dodging by the skin of his teeth, Freed was forced onto the defensive as blows came rapidly and without pause.

His assailant was garbed in black and wearing a featureless blank white mask on his face, obscuring his face completely. He belatedly noted that the faint presence of a devil on his opponent. Features hardening in rage, Freed snarled and tried to counterattack, refusing to be defeated by anyone related to devil kind.

Their blades clashing under the moonlight, both moved at speeds that a normal human would perceive them to be just a blur, it made for a surreal experience and their hidden observer watched with wide eyes.

Freed's eyes widened in panic and surprise as he noticed a rapidly expanding spider web of cracks on his sword. "Fuck off and die already shitty asshole. Hold still so I can kill you."

" **Not interested. I have questions for you and you will answer them one way or another."** Issei's disguised voice rang out and he redoubled his efforts to bring down the foul-mouthed exorcist. Freed was skilled, no doubt about it, however with Sentinel's assistance, the poor sod was hopelessly outmatched.

Ducking under a desperate swing from Freed, Issei stabbed upwards with his sword, impacting the fractures on Freed's blade dead centre. Unable to take any more abuse, the sword shattered, leaving Freed holding on to a hilt and not much else.

Whipping out his gun to make up for the lost blade, Freed backpedalled as fast as he could and fired wildly at Issei. He however, failed to take into account Issei's optical camouflage and paid dearly for it. One second Issei was there, the next he'd faded into thin air and his shots went wide.

Continuing to spray the area with light bolts while swearing a blue streak every step of the way, Freed was jarred from his tirade as his gun hand was encased in a grip of steel and forced upwards. Agonising pain shot through him as the grip on his hand increased a hundredfold, crushing both the gun and his hand into a misshapen mess.

Opening his mouth to scream, Freed was cut off again by Issei reappearing and grabbing his face with his free hand. Pain blossomed and Freed's vision was filled with stars as Issei smashed the back of his head against a nearby tree repeatedly.

For all his training and anger, Freed was still human. His body unable to withstand such punishment any further began forced his mind to shut down under the constant barrage of blows and he slipped into merciful unconsciousness.

Once his prey stopped resisting, Issei bashed his head one more time just to be on the safe side before releasing his grip and allowing the unconscious body to slide to the ground. Dropping like a puppet with its strings cut, Freed left a red smear and a visible dent on the tree he'd been repeatedly introduced to.

Letting out a sigh as the stray exorcist made no move to rise again or gave any indication that his unconsciousness was in any way faked, Issei took a few steps back and rested against a tree. 'That… was brutal. Why did I do that? I just needed to knock him out… not turn him into a prospective coma patient. What the hell is wrong with me?"

 **[Colonel, the energy imbued in the Muramasa blade is 34.9% stronger than when you used it against Gael. Hypothesis, it has an increased effect on bloodlust the stronger it gets.]**

Raising the blade to eye level, Issei noted that the metal seemed to have taken on a reddish hue in the moonlight, and he didn't think it was just a trick of the eye. 'This is unacceptable, guess I was overconfident in my ability to resist the curse after all. Sentinel, we will be switching back to using standard blades from here on out, keep this sword stored in the twice critical and continue running tests on it. I want to, no I need to know everything about it.'

 **[Understood colonel. What shall we do about our observer?]**

Issei had his gauntlet absorb the sword and turned to his right, staring at his junior still hiding in the shadows. **"You can come out now, I know you're there Koneko."** Silence, and then the leaves rustled and Issei's white haired junior emerged. "…Who are you."

" **This is the part where I say it's bad manners to ask for someone else's name without introducing yourself first isn't it, but since I already know who you are I'll let it slide. As to who I am… I, am complicated. But for now, you can consider me a friend."**

"What… what are you. Your ki is all wrong, I've never met any devils or other supernatural creature like you before."

" **Heheheheh, like I said, I'm complicated… but… I am human… when I choose to be."**

"I see…" Koneko said in a monotone but was clearly disbelieving of Issei's claim to be human. "You are coming with me to see buchou. That stray exorcist you just beat… he will be coming as well."

" **AH hahahaha, I don't have to do anything Koneko-chan. The exorcist is coming with me, as to seeing Rias, well, I will be paying her a visit soon to clarify some matters."**

"I wasn't asking."

" **I know, but you can't stop me."**

Sliding into a boxing stance, Koneko readied herself for any possible hostility, the unknown was easily as fast as Kiba. Ashamed as she was to admit it, there would be no way for her to keep up with that kind of speed and her only hope was that the rest would arrive soon after she flared her demonic power before she was defeated.

Noting Koneko's agitated state, Issei suppressed a snort of laughter. Unwilling to delay any longer, he flashed to Freed's downed form in a burst of sparks and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Koneko cursed herself as soon as she saw that, that tactical error she made was about to cost her dearly. **"No my dear Koneko-chan, I'm not going to fight you. Like I said, I am a friend for now, but I cannot accede to your request just yet. Hahahah. Give my regards to your companions."**

Koneko dropped her stance as Issei once more exploded into a shower of sparks. Once it cleared up, there was no sign of him or the stray exorcist. She sighed as she was left alone in the clearing.

"Things just got… complicated…."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 4** : Only human

"Oooh, Murayama sure has big tits."

"Katase has some nice legs."

"You guys… why the hell are we doing this again? I thought you didn't like the dumb pervert act." Issei shook his head at Matsuda and Motohama's antics. To say his interrogation of Freed was going nowhere was an understatement, his two buddies had noticed his stressed-out state and dragged him along to destress.

He wasn't expecting them to drag him to a peeping session though… not that he was complaining.

"I take offense to the 'dumb' part of that, got nothing against the pervert bit. Besides, you're hardly in any position to criticise us, you've been hogging the peephole for how long now? Hurry up and switch over asshole, it's not fair that you get to enjoy it alone."

"…No." Issei refused to budge from his position as he continued peeping on the kendo girls, it'd been awhile since he'd been able to indulge in his… hobbies and despite himself he did feel some of his recent stress draining away.

Fending off his two friends and defending his prime location, he found himself cracking a rare genuine smile. Just for a short while he could forget all about his responsibilities and enjoy the glory of the feminine form.

Sadly for the trio, they inadvertently created a ruckus in their struggle. As soon as the first cries of outrage came from the girls, they knew the jig was up and beat a hasty retreat, no sense in getting beat for overstaying their welcome.

Successfully decamping to the school roof, they lay on their backs staring up at the blue sky. Simply enjoying the peace, in that instant they were just three regular high school boys instead of soldiers saddled with a burden they never asked for.

"Life is good, isn't it?" Motohama randomly fired off that question into the air, receiving a chorus of agreements in response. "Family, friends, good food and a roof over our heads, what more could we ask for?"

"Oppai?" Issei closed his eyes and basked in the warm sunlight as his buddies laughed. "That is why we fight isn't it, so these days can continue."

"Yup. In all seriousness though, this Jibril you're going after, you sure you can handle it alone?" And with that, reality came crashing back down with Matsuda's question. "Do you think I can't handle it? I've dealt with worse."

"Yeah… you have. As I recall, those incidents tend to involve you being tossed around like a rag doll until reinforcements arrived. This Jibril… I have checked the archives, he doesn't appear to be as prominent as some of the other mythological figures as far as I can tell. But every time he shows up, extreme devastation tends to follow."

"Oh?"

"It took a while for the system to sort out all the possible supernatural events from the mundane, I cross referenced the description your prisoner gave with the results and well… to call this guy a walking WMD would be an understatement. I am fairly certain he's personally responsible for Chernobyl and a whole host of other disasters in history. That and he's a cadre class fallen angel… aren't those the guys who can blow up entire cities with just a bit of effort?"

"I can take him. Just need to prepare a few surprises of my own and I can bring him down."

Matsuda sat up and directed a withering glare at Issei. "And that's another thing I'm worried about. You're starting to grow cocky, I watched the fight between you and the exorcist yesterday, as well as your little fracas with Gael."

"I won the fights, didn't I? I fail to see what you're upset about."

"Yeah… that's just it. There shouldn't have been a fight at all. You easily outclass the both of them and you should have finished it the instant you engaged. Instead you dragged it out for your own amusement, holding back your power for god knows what."

"Cut me some slack would you, I had it in the bag. I don't see a need to show off my abilities."

Motohama cut in at this point, agreeing with Matsuda, he was incredulous that Issei still didn't see the problem. "It's not about showing off, it's about getting the job done. You have a tendency to underestimate your opponents Issei, and if Jibril is as strong as Matsuda says, you go in underestimating him, you're going to lose."

"That's not happening, he _murdered_ my sister, I'm not letting him go. Besides assault mode gives me plenty of strength, I can take him in a fight."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Matsuda felt like he was arguing with a brick wall. "And what makes you think there'll even be a fight? This guy can fly and he has attacks capable of nuking all of Kuoh. Exactly why would he fight you when he can just stay the hell away and bomb the living shit out of you. Somehow, I don't think he's the kind of guy to worry about collateral damage."

"Then there's the part where he has centuries of experience on you along with god knows how many unknown abilities either cultivated in secret or unknown simply because he killed off every witness. You may have Sentinel's abilities as a trump card but you're only human, he isn't. Your limitations aren't his, and you have no way of locking him down. In theory, he could just skip you and rush to whatever his objective is while destroying everything in his path to slow you down."

"I won't let him."

"What makes you think you'll have a choice?"

-line break

'Sentinel, have I really grown complacent?'

 **[I am incapable of coming to a conclusion colonel. However, compared to a year ago, you are statistically 54.7% less likely to end a battle in the most expedient manner.]**

'…That sucks.' Issei was strolling around town aimlessly. Matsuda and Motohama did have a point, Issei had to concede that. Jibril was for the most part a complete unknown to him, the only info he had on the fallen angel was that he was a major threat and willing to go to any lengths in order to succeed.

The bloodhounds could only assist in tracking him down but were near powerless against an opponent capable of flight, furthermore both his buddies would be out of town soon and thus unable to assist him.

He was confident in his speed and repertoire of tricks but against an opponent with centuries of battle experience, he was no longer certain that it would be enough. Issei sighed explosively as the magnitude of task before him finally set in.

'Okay… I need to beat down Jibril fast, before he can pull out any moves that will turn Kuoh into a crater. Any ideas Sentinel?"

 **[Recommendation, stealth and snipe target with the Mistilteinn]**

'Hmmm… a direct hit from a railgun? Yes, that just might work. Good call Sentinel.' Feeling slightly better now that he had a viable solution, Issei was about to walk off when he heard someone's voice. "Hauuuu…."

Issei craned his head to look, and there a few metres from him he saw a nun sprawled on the floor, a small suitcase lying on its side next to her. "A-are you alright?" Issei walked over and offered the girl his hand. As she took his hand, the nun muttered something in a foreign language, Issei blinked as Sentinel's translation filtered through.

"Hauuu… why do I keep tripping… oh thank you very much mister." Finishing off in broken Japanese, Issei shrugged and replied in Italian to spare her the trouble. "It is no problem miss, are you alright?"

As she dusted herself off, a strong wind blew in and her veil went flying as a result of it. No longer held up by the veil, her long blond hair fell around her shoulders, seeming to sparkle in the sunlight.

Innocent green eyes stared back at Issei and he found his heart taken in an instant. Finding himself lost for words, Issei continued staring at her face with a dumb look on his face. Puzzled, the nun cocked her head in a cute manner. "Ah… is there something wrong mister?"

Embarrassed, Issei averted his eyes, there was no way he could say something like he'd fallen for her at first sight. "N-no nothing's wrong." Moving to retrieve her discarded veil, he managed to get his emotions in order somewhat, battle hardened veteran he may have been, he was still hopelessly green when it came to dealing with members of the opposite sex about anything other than work.

Upon handing the veil over, Issei motioned to the suitcase by her side, "travelling miss?" A shadow crossed her face and Issei feared he might have hit a sore spot, it disappeared soon enough and her sunny smile returned. "No, that's not it, I was… appointed… to the church in this town. Ah! You must be a resident here, it's nice to meet you."

Bowing to Issei, her unsecured veil fell off her head once more and she scrambled to pick it up, mumbling about her clumsiness again. Issei noted her hesitation when she mentioned being appointed to the church and detected the tiny amount of bitterness in that word, there was some history and Issei decided to steer clear of the topic to avoid causing any further pain.

"Um… I can't speak Japanese very well and um… I'm a little lost right now. Do you… do you know the way to the church mister?" Issei twitched at the question and struggled to formulate a response, under the nun's innocent stare however, he wasn't able to keep his silence for very long.

"Y-yes, I do know of the church, there is only one on the outskirts of the town. But, uh… there's a slight problem with that. It was uh… demolished last night, yeah! That's right, demolished."

"Hauuuuu… what do I do now?" Issei's started sweating and fidgeting uncomfortably as his collar was suddenly too tight. 'Uh maybe… maybe destroying the church to cover up was a bad idea? But, that place was in use by the fallen angels as their base though… I don't think it'd be a good idea to let a nun go there of all places.'

Despite reassuring himself with that train of thought, he still didn't know how to help out the mystery nun. Although, now that he thought about it, the girl seemed familiar somehow, wasn't he supposed to look for someone matching her description?

Before he could ask about her identity and if she had any other plans, they were distracted by the sound of crying. A small boy who couldn't be much older than ten was seated on a bench holding a scraped knee. It didn't seem to anything major and a woman who Issei presumed to be the boy's mother was next to him thus he figured the boy would be fine.

Returning his attention to the nun, he was surprised to see her walking towards the wounded boy. Unsure of what to do, Issei followed behind her, watching as she tried explaining that she was there to help in broken Japanese.

Kneeling down, she cupped her hands around the boy's wounded knee and a soft green glow emanated from them, gently enveloping the wound. Issei and the boy's mother watched with wide eyes as the wound stopped bleeding and knit itself together, leaving unblemished skin behind. There wasn't even a scar left once the light faded.

Patting the boy's head, she smiled at the boy and spoke in Italian once more. "There, there, no need to cry anymore. Boys shouldn't cry over such a small injury okay?" Despite not understanding the nun's words, the kid gave dried his tears and gave a bright smile.

The boy's mother on the other hand merely grabbed the boy's hand and hurried to leave, seeking to get away from the strange person. Before being dragged away the boy turned back and responded with a quick "thank you Onee-chan" and a wave.

Returning the wave, the nun had a soft smile on her face. "I'm sorry mister, but I had to help him." Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at Issei. 'Sentinel, that was…'

 **[Energy signature is similar to the twice critical. Hypothesis, the nun possesses a sacred gear.]**

"That was…"

"The power to heal. It's a wonderful gift god bestowed upon me at birth, with it I can help so many people!" There was sadness in her words despite her smile and conviction. "I'm sorry if it scared you mister… oh! Where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Asia Argento, it's nice to meet you mister!"

'Yup, it is her. Sentinel, send a message to Gael that we found his missing nun.' Noticing that he'd drifted off again and Asia was still waiting for his reply, he hurried to introduce himself as well. "A-ah yes, I-I'm Hyoudou Issei, it's nice to meet you too."

The brilliant smile he received in return warmed his heart and brightened his day once more. Despite only meeting Asia for the first time that day, he still felt compelled to help her. 'Could this be fate?' Issei had already been captivated by her, helping her out now might net him a rare female friend… if they did become something more in the future… well he certainly wouldn't object to that possibility.

Stamping out that train of thought for the moment, he refocused on the problem at hand. Asia didn't appear to have anywhere to stay at the moment with the church completely levelled, he could set her up at his warehouse cum makeshift prison but he didn't dare risk having her in close proximity with a fallen angel and a bat shit crazy priest.

Which left him just one option.

"U-um Asia-san, if… if you don't mind it, you could stay over at my place." Seeing her curious look, he hastily added a few additional details while frantically waving his hands. "Ah ah ah, I don't mean anything perverted of course, my parent's house has an unused guest room you can use, I should be able to convince them… and, and my elder sister is there as well, she'd probably allow you to room with her if you prefer. I won't peep on you or anything, I promise!"

Issei was slightly surprised to find that it actually physically hurt him to get the last words out. He hoped he managed to make a convincing case despite the words sounding strange and foreign to his ears. When Asia didn't respond, his heart sank and he figured he effectively scuttled any chance of friendship with the blond nun, as he did with so many other females.

A large weight left his shoulders as Asia's face brightened after a few moments of quiet contemplation. "Okay Issei-san, I trust you."

-line break

As it turned out, Issei needn't have worried about his parent's refusal to allow Asia to stay. They readily accepted her into the house while breaking down in tears during dinner that their worthless son had finally brought home a girl. Issei was mortified, he'd never been so embarrassed in his life, fortunately for him, most of their comments seemed to go over Asia's head and his reputation hadn't been completely sunk yet.

Haruna welcomed Asia with a conflicted heart. On one hand, she was happy Issei actually made a friend that wasn't a complete pervert, but on the other, she was a devil and having a nun in such close proximity was probably not a good idea.

Then there was the fact that Rias had asked her to look out for anything suspicious, a nun appearing one day after the church was destroyed? She didn't want to suspect Asia, but the cynical side of her couldn't just ignore the possibility that she was involved.

She couldn't object to Asia's presence either with both Issei and her parents willing to allow the girl to stay. Ignoring the headache brought about by Asia blessing them in god's name, she resolved to inform Rias about it and allow the nun to room with her. All the better to keep an eye on her.

 **[I do believe you're overreacting. I sense no malice from the girl]**

'Ddraig? Be that as it may, it doesn't pay to be careful. The last time I trusted and helped a stranger I wound up with a light spear through my stomach… once is more than enough thank you very much."

 **[Yes… and that is why you need to work on being a better judge of character. In any case, you're going on patrol later, work on your senses, it's more likely to save your life than any other skill you can train right now. I'd worry less about the girl and more about the crows in hiding.]**

'Okay, okay, I got it. I got it!' Spending the next hour or so helping Asia unpack her meagre belongings and setting up her sleeping arrangements, she found her worries fading away. The blond nun had a way of getting people to trust her, her clumsiness further eased any fears that she was a threat.

Wanting to clarify a few things with her brother and convince him to stay home again if only to spend time with their new tenant, Haruna was miffed when she realised he'd snuck out and was off wandering around town again. 'Seriously, that boy will be the death of me.' Sighing, she left as well to begin her patrol of the town.

Enjoying the peace and quiet as she followed her patrol route, much of Kuoh was quiet save the few rambling drunks the few establishments still open. Passing by the other members of Rias's peerage occasionally, their reports were much the same, no sign of any trouble yet.

Finishing her patrol at the destroyed church, she was about to return home when her instincts screamed imminent danger. Throwing herself to the side, she narrowly avoided being skewered with a light spear. Springing back to her feet, she looked up at her assailant.

A fallen angel with black hair dressed in a bondage outfit was hovering in the air, a second light spear already in hand. Violet eyes burning with anger, Haruna could tell she wasn't in the mood for a peaceful resolution.

"I don't suppose we could talk this over like civilised people?" Haruna summoned the boosted gear and flared her own demonic energy. The fallen's response was to hurl the spear at her. Dodging once more, Haruna returned fire with a blast of demonic power from her hands. "Yeah… I didn't think so too." [Boost!]

Raynare was in a very ill mood at the moment. Nothing about her current assignment had gone right, it was FUBAR from the very beginning. 'Watch the girl he said, it'll be easy he said. Fuck. That. Noise.' Her mission from Azazel had been scuppered before it even began, it ended as soon as that pretentious prick Jibril assassinated her charge in broad daylight and left the body for the devils to reincarnate.

Before she could return to HQ with the bad news, Jibril had hijacked her mission by revealing the fact that Kalawaner and Mittelt were both his captives and any failure to follow his orders would result in their immediate termination. Of course, she wouldn't exactly be healthy after that either.

She only had two wings, what was she supposed to do against a monster on the same level as the leaders of the Grigori. Dohnaseek had been subdued in much the same way and she didn't have a choice but to obey.

But of course, fate wasn't quite done screwing with her. Jibril's assignment was likewise screwed straight out the gate. Dohnaseek was supposed to meet up with her along with a small army of stray exorcists, he never showed up and the exorcists were similarly missing.

Then there was the matter of their base, after being dragged around the underworld as Jibril's errand boy, she'd returned to find the church completely demolished. Even the underground chamber had been collapsed, and the nun she was supposed to pick up at the church was a no show as well.

Pissed and in search of answers, she found a devil wandering about the remains of her base, attacking immediately to subdue her, it did not go according to plan. Her surprise attack had failed and the devil wasn't one of those crazed strays either.

'Of course! Why not? The one devil I run into happens to be my observation target and a Longinus possessor. Why the fuck not? If fate has a sense of humour, I don't find it funny.' Gritting her teeth, Raynare continued weaving through the air, dodging the ever-increasing barrage of attacks from Haruna, counterattacking whenever she could.

With the element of surprise lost, their combat ability was roughly even, being able to fly gave her extra mobility which somewhat offset the sheer amount of energy bolts Haruna could release.

[Boost!]

Raynare was beginning to hate that sound a lot, every time that accursed crimson gauntlet sounded off, the Sekiryuutei's barrage would increase in strength, in the battle dragged on any longer she'd be crushed by sheer weight of numbers alone.

[Boost!]

Gambling it all on a risky move, Raynare abandoned her aerial advantage and rushed in close. Weaving through the onslaught, she successfully entered melee range with a surprised Haruna. At such close quarters her barrage was incapable of hitting or locking down the fallen angel.

Wielding the light spear as a more conventional melee weapon, Raynare launched a series of thrusts to keep Haruna of balance before landing a solid kick to her midsection. Here, the new devil's inexperience showed through, with virtually zero combat experience aside from a few light spars with her peerage members, Haruna was unable to deal with the sudden shift and paid for it.

Satisfaction bloomed in Raynare as her gamble succeeded, with her opponent off balance, she swapped out her light spear for two smaller light daggers and started slashing away at the girl in a flurry of rapid strikes.

Unable to block every strike with the boosted gear, Haruna was slowly but surely forced backwards as her clothes were cut to shreds. Fortunately for her, the boosts from her sacred gear had the additional benefit of increasing her resistances to light based weaponry, it was the only thing still keeping her on her feet.

Blood loss and pain from the light poisoning eventually took their toll and her legs gave out on her. Falling onto her back, she wasn't able to stand before Raynare planted a foot on her stomach forcing her to lie down and placing her light spear at her neck.

"That's quite enough devil bitch. Where are my comrades and why did you destroy my base?"

"What are you talking about? I don't-" Haruna's reply was cut off by Raynare stabbing her spear inches away from her throat. "Wrong answer bitch. You only get so many mistakes, now answer my damned question. Lie to me and I end you."

A stray thought ran through Raynare's mind and she decided to add another question to the list. "And one more thing, a nun was supposed to arrive today, I don't suppose you happen to know where she is hmm?"

Haruna's mind kicked into overdrive as she tried to process the information the fallen inadvertently revealed to her. 'Ok... the fallen also have no idea what destroyed the church, somethings out there picking off her comrades as well and… she's after Asia.'

"Look, whoever you are, I don't know what destroyed that church nor do I know who's attacking your friends. I didn't even know you had comrades here and we're currently looking into the destruction of the church as well."

"And the nun?" Raynare resisted the urge to scream in exasperation as her captive was proving to be of little use in her quest for answers. "I know nothing about that."

"Gee, you're real useful, aren't you? Any reason why I shouldn't simply end you right now?" Raising her spear for the coup de grace, Raynare was interrupted by a third voice intruding. "How about if you go through with that, I will kill you slowly and painfully in revenge for my cute servant?"

Rias had arrived with Akeno in tow, neither looked very happy to see Raynare, Rias in particular was positively murderous. "If you let her go this instant, I might consider letting you live."

"Well, well, well, look what we have here, if it isn't the little Gremory princess and the wannabe miko. I don't give a damn about what you think you're going to do, my comrades are missing… possibly dead, I am not very inclined to listen to you bullshit me right now."

A red aura formed around Rias and the sound of crackling could be heard coming from Akeno. "Oh my, you believe we're joking? We had nothing to do with your missing friends, if you hurt my pawn any further it will be taken as an act of war. Then you will die, and… if your friends are still breathing, they soon won't be."

Growling, Raynare gnashed her teeth in frustration, she was outnumbered and very clearly outgunned. If she did follow through on her threat, even if it didn't come to war, Azazel would readily have her branded a rouge for her actions, Jibril would not be pleased and her captive friends' lives would be forfeit.

"And I'm supposed to just stand by and do nothing?" Raynare asked incredulously. "My home, is gone. My friends are missing and my charge never appeared. Do you really believe the higher ups will let this slide? If I do nothing, my life is over anyway, this way at least I take one of you with me."

Haruna took the moment to pipe up, "li-like I said, w-we had nothing to do with that!" It was getting harder and harder for her to breath as Raynare continued to exert pressure with her foot and her boosts had already worn off, leaving her with a deep-seated fatigue. "We could work together on this!"

"Ahn? What kind of a fool do you take me for, you expect me to trust filthy devils like you? As soon as I put down my weapon, your two buddies over there will blast me into oblivion."

"That's enough Haruna, no need to negotiate with a bloody crow like her. We'll get you out of there soon enough, don't worry." Raynare sneered at Rias's words, "Oh I'd like to see you try."

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Haruna desperately tried to resolve the situation with words before any further violence could break out. "Wait! W-we don't have to fight! Whatever is out there has nothing to do with either of our factions, we're wasting time fighting among ourselves while the culprit is still out there."

Raynare considered the possibility for a moment, "You say you had nothing to do with all this, how do I know you're telling the truth. How do I know you're not in cahoots with the culprit?"

"Ara ara, this filthy crow dares to question our involvement, Rias, let me deal with her, I'll make sure she learns her lesson thoroughly, fufufu…." Akeno voiced her opinion in a sadistic tone only to be met with Rias shaking her head.

"That's enough Akeno, I swear on my name as heiress to the house of Gremory and on my honour as the younger sister of the maou Lucifer that my peerage had nothing to do with the destruction of the church or the disappearance of your comrades. Is that enough for you crow?" Upon seeing Haruna working to diffuse the situation, Rias decided to not waste her effort and extend an olive branch of sorts.

Raynare sneered but otherwise didn't do anything to escalate the conflict. "…Fine, say I believe you, if I let your servant go, what guarantee do I have that as soon as I do so you won't immediately murder me." Light spear still held to Haruna's throat, she was prepared for any sudden moves from the Gremory heiress and her companion.

"You question my honour crow? Unlike your kind, I don't stab people in the back. As much as I want to destroy you for hurting my pawn right now, we both have bigger problems to worry about and I am willing to let this incident slide as much as it pains me to do so."

For a time, no one moved as a cool night breeze blew by, then after giving one last sneer, Raynare deactivated her spear and spread her wings, taking to the air. "Fine, I'll believe you all, but if I find that you really are responsible, I'll do everything in my power to end you." With that parting shot, she flew off into the night sky, leaving the trio of devils on the ground.

"Was that wise Rias? Letting the fallen go like that? She might return as an enemy."

"Your prejudices aside, our objective was to rescue Haruna, not kill off every fallen angel in the area. Besides, it appears that our unknown is hunting the fallen, by letting her go like that, she'll serve as bait to draw out the unknown. When it appears, we can deal with it then. And if the crow bites it, well collateral damage is to be expected and it's not like she'll be missed."

"…Sometimes, I forget how ruthless you can be."

Frowns marred their faces as they helped the wounded Sekiryuutei to her feet. Haruna's wounds weren't deep, but the sheer number of them had ensured a significant amount of blood loss. That the wounds were caused by light didn't help matters any.

"Come on Akeno, help me get her back to her house. We can heal her up there." Each slinging one of her arms over their shoulder, they spread their wings and took flight as well.

-line break

'Sentinel, how much longer until you bleach my brain completely.'

 **[Memory wipe is currently at 44%, estimated time to completion is 2hrs and 53min]**

'I see… hurry it up will you, I want everything gone, dump it into deep storage if you must, I never want to recall that shit stain ever again.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

Shaking his head in a futile attempt to rid himself of the images plaguing him, Issei chugged another glass of industrial grade vodka. Slamming his head on the bar top, Issei cussed in fourteen different languages to the amusement of the barkeep.

In hindsight, trying to absorb and assimilate a clearly deranged priest with nothing but murder on his mind was a terrible idea. After another failed interrogation of Freed, Issei had made good on an earlier threat to rip the information directly from his mind.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, memory retrieval was a strange thing indeed. Due to the complex nature of the mind, directly pinpointing and isolating a target memory from anyone's brain before extracting it was impossible. It was all or nothing.

To that end, Issei had reverted Sentinel into its original form, a metal based parasite existing for the sole purpose of assimilating any and all knowledge, and introduced it to his struggling prisoner. That endeavour ended in lots of screaming.

Due to Issei and Sentinel being two halves of a gestalt consciousness, he wasn't able to prevent himself from being exposed to Freed's core during the process. Issei had seen some very disturbing shit over the two years he'd been fused with Sentinel, but none of that prepared him for the depravity he witnessed within Freed's mind.

What was done to him, what was done to others, what he himself did, everything was laid bare for Issei who had no way of stemming the tide of memories. Freed Sellzen could have been said to be a living monument to the inherent darkness of human nature.

Sentinel was essentially a machine, a being operating on cold logic alone and thus immune to the pain and suffering of others, Issei had no such protection. The memory transfer ended in an instant, but to Issei it was an eternity, he blanked out and for a time was lost in a void, wondering where a never ending bestial scream was coming from.

By the time he realised it was coming from himself, he was already coated in the blood of the insane exorcist with tears streaming from his eyes. Freed's corpse lay against the wall, face smashed in by Issei's frenzied blows during his blanked-out state.

Retching, the all too human boy voided his stomach contents on the floor. Murder, rape, endless experimentation, endless violence, never ending impenetrable darkness, all those memories swirled around inside his head. If it wasn't for Sentinel's cool and calming presence, Issei would have lost himself in the cesspool of human misery that was Freed.

Unable to stand the torment any longer, Issei had staggered out into the night in search of the nearest bar to drown the pain in alcohol. Somehow, he still had the presence of mind to order Sentinel to index the information pertaining to Jibril and the deletion of everything else.

Assuming a disguise as he walked unsteadily, Issei just wanted it all gone. He didn't think he'd be able to continue functioning as a human being if those memories stayed in him. Freed was a complete monster, rotten to the core and beyond saving, despite that, Issei felt a pang of regret for the exorcist, for in the end he was a monster of human creation.

Face blank under his disguise, Issei burned two names into his consciousness. 'The Sigurd Institution and Cypher huh… I will make you all pay for your sins, I swear it.'

About to empty yet another glass of vodka, it was swiped from his hands by a stranger who just occupied the seat next to him. Directing his bloodshot eyes at whatever shmuck thought it'd be a good idea to steal his drink, Issei found himself face to face with a very attractive young woman.

Dressed conservatively in a long green skirt, a white dress shirt and a pink sweater over it that seemed to accentuate her bust, radiant black hair fell to her hips. Upon slamming the glass back down on the table, her perfectly manicured nails were visible to Issei.

'Hot…' In spite of his current situation, Issei still managed to appreciate beauty where he saw it. Initially drawn to her sizable assets, what captured his attention was her empty violet eyes that made her look tired and much older. Bitter smile on her face, she heaved a deep sigh before directing her attention to the man whose drink she just stole.

"Heh… sorry about that stranger, but I needed that drink, I'll buy the next glass."

"…Why?"

"Misery loves company I guess." Receiving the two fresh glasses from the barkeep, she slid one to Issei who took it without a word. "Cheers! To our individual suffering and collective pain, may it end soon one way or another."

Swirling his drink, Issei stared at his distorted reflection before clinking glasses with his new drinking partner and both downed their drinks.

"Yo barkeep! One more round." Issei was tired of being reminded of his own failings to protect his family and the very distinct possibility he might lose against the person gunning for his sister's head. Being exposed to Freed's memories only exacerbated the issue, just for the night, he decided to just screw everything and drink until he could drink no more.

Raynare was in a similar state. Nothing had gone right for her in a very long while, she had no base, no allies and still no answers. What she did have was an ever-increasing amount of problems stemming from two bosses who wouldn't hesitate to have her thrown under the bus.

And thus, two strangers on opposing sides of the conflict sat side by side, enjoying a drink and the fact that they weren't alone in dealing with misery. Stripped of the supernatural, they were at heart only human.

* * *

Author's notes: to anyone still sticking with this story, thanks for reading. If Issei's abilities seem broken at the moment, it's because they are. He has his limits though which will come when he finally goes against Jibril. He's only overpowered against mooks, anything on the final or superboss levels will crush him easily.

* * *

Omake: Through the eyes of madness

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts… it hurts.

Pain, so much pain. How do I make it stop?

Ah, the blood, such a pretty colour. I… I want to see more.

I… I killed him. I… I don't hurt anymore.

I understand now, to stop the pain, I must kill.

My purpose, they told me my purpose today.

I turn six today.

I am to be an exorcist, a soldier of god and punisher of sinners.

Devils and those who follow them will die, then I will hurt no more.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts… it hurts.

Why? I kill and kill and kill and kill… still it hurts

There is no god. This world is a joke.

I understand now, to stop the pain, I must hurt them before they hurt me.

It feels good. Hurting others feels good.

My name is Freed Sellzen.

Soon, I will be free from the pain forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 5** : Outmatched

The rest of the week passed quickly enough, on the surface, Kuoh was as peaceful as it's always been. No further acts of 'terrorism' had occurred and the 'unknowns' had gone silent, for the residents of the town, things were returning to normal at last.

But within the unseen world, every supernatural faction in the town was moving to advance their own agenda. The devils had stepped up patrols and training after Haruna's run in with Raynare and were prepared for armed conflict at any moment. Raynare herself had picked up a few stragglers who survived Issei's and Gael's rampage along with reinforcements from Jibril and had holed up in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Kuoh.

The bloodhounds were still doing their best to track Jibril's movements and Gael had left Asia in Issei's hands until the crisis had blown over. Motohama had left town a day after Issei's drinking binge to follow up on a lead that Choir remnants had been spotted in Tokyo.

Matsuda followed suit the next day, having to return to Pacific HQ for his scheduled report and a new assignment. Something about strange energy readings coming from the bottom of Challenger Deep or other.

With his two erstwhile allies gone, Issei was feeling the pressure. Despite already knowing that they would be gone, he had been hoping that Jibril would show before their departure, competent help was always welcome after all. There were still too many unknown variables in the equation for Issei's liking and he found his own perversion being curbed by his stress.

The female population of Kuoh cheered as they were granted freedom from two members of the perverted trio with the last evidently not having the nerve to perv on them alone. Issei wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when he overheard the students gossiping about that.

He spent most of his free time alone on the roof, just lying back and staring up at the sky. For some reason he couldn't pinpoint, Aika would join him occasionally, never saying anything, just standing off to the side observing him for a while before leaving.

Issei didn't really know what to make of that, she was a normal human as far as he could tell, she wasn't even one of those human students who were aware of and had contact with the supernatural like that third-year student Kiyome Abe.

Putting her aside for the moment, Issei turned his mind to other more pressing matters. Namely what Jibril wanted with Asia.

As soon as his hangover had cleared, he'd gone over the surveillance footage captured by Sentinel and Motohama's sensors. Needless to say, he was less than pleased when he came across his sister's little fight with Raynare. He wasn't sure which to be more pissed at, that he'd once again failed to be there for his family or that his new drinking buddy was the one responsible for his sister's injuries.

Once the initial surge of anger had died down, Issei's more rational side focused on the little titbits he managed to glean from the encounter. So far neither the devils nor the fallen had caught on to his identity yet and Gael's bloodhounds were still secret.

And there was the fact that Asia was supposed to meet up with one of Jibril's agents. That didn't bode well for anyone, Issei didn't believe someone like Asia would willingly work for Jibril and he likewise didn't believe that Jibril had any good intentions for the nun.

The cadre class fallen would have undoubtedly been informed of his forces failure to retrieve her. He didn't really know what Jibril would do to retrieve Asia if anything at all, but it just added another potential target he needed to protect. With the girl stuck inside Kuoh and currently putting up in his home where his parents could be in the line of fire, Issei was nursing a major headache just trying to sort things out.

The only thing he had to be thankful for in this situation was that his parents apparently knew how to speak Italian, a holdover from their globetrotting days in the past, albeit a little rusty. Asia herself had integrated herself into the Hyoudou family just fine, Issei's parents were delighted to have a new daughter and Haruna had already adopted Asia as her sister even if she didn't realise it yet. Asia's lack of a placement in any school meant she spent virtually all her time at home and that reduced the risk of her being snatched off the streets by Jibril's agents.

 **[Colonel, sensors indicate the devil known as Koneko Toujou is approaching, shall I activate stealth systems?]** Sentinel's words jarred him from his thoughts.

'Don't bother Sentinel, given that she's a devil, she's already aware of my presence here. Suddenly disappearing will only tip her off to my identity if she doesn't already know. Oh, and stop calling me that.' Issei simply closed his eyes and awaited his new visitor.

 **[Understood colonel.]**

The sound of a door opening reached his ears and Koneko's footsteps grew louder as she approached. To Issei's surprise, Koneko didn't address him, merely walking over to the fence before sitting down. Despite that, he could still feel her eyes on him.

"Well… I seem to be popular these days, if I knew all it took for girls to be interested in me was to spend my time alone on the roof, I'd have done it a long time ago."

"…"

"…Jokes aside, you are a first-year who happens to be in the same club as my sister yes? Can I help you with anything?"

"…"

"Not very talkative, are you? Well that's fine, I don't mind the silence." True to his words, Issei stopped talking immediately after, he didn't know why Koneko was watching him like that but there wasn't anything he could do about it without blowing his cover. And if she already knew, why hadn't she said anything?

"…You feel familiar."

Cracking one eye open slightly, Issei stared at Koneko through it. "Are you trying to pick me up? You're not doing a very good job."

"…"

"Alright, alright, I won't joke anymore. But seriously though, how do you want me to respond to that? This is the first time we're having a conversation after all, well, the first time I'm speaking anyway since you're more of the listening type."

"…Is it? I believe we've met before. I will get to the bottom of it soon. And… a message from your sister, she is busy with club activities today and will be home late. She wishes for you to bring your… guest around town and buy the groceries… and you are to return home immediately after."

"If you say so… thanks for acting as messenger by the way. I presume you'll be going back to your club soon?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes, do tell my sister that a simple call will be enough the next time, and just because a cute girl delivers her message doesn't mean I'll stay home like a good boy. Wanderlust is in my blood."

"…Noted."

Both having said their peace, the brunette boy and white-haired girl lapsed into a comfortable silence. 'So Koneko is suspicious and Haruna is being overly worried again. That's okay I guess… and I got to take Asia out later, sounds about right, she's probably already tired of being cooped up in the house all day.'

 **[Recommendation, move timetable up and collect Dohnaseek's answer before running errand.]**

'Oh yeah… I nearly forgot about that.' Rising to his feet sedately, Issei stretched and bid Koneko farewell before leaving. "Goodbye for now my dear Koneko-chan, it was nice talking to you. Have a nice day."

As Issei left, Koneko frowned in consternation. Those words struck a chord within her for some reason, just like how his presence felt so familiar. 'It has to be him, the man in the mask. I should inform buchou… but I have no proof yet.'

She would have followed Issei if she could but she still had her duties to the ORC to attend to, her familiar was also out patrolling the town. Unable to do much, she continued staring at Issei's retreating back with a troubled gaze

-line break

"Ah Ise-san! What is this?"

"Ise-san! Ise-san! Look at this! Look at this!"

"Ah… um… Ise-san how, how do I eat this?"

Asia was having the time of her life, Issei's family had been very nice to her and she felt like she had an actual home after so long. His parents treated her like a daughter, Haruna was the big sister she always wanted but never got, Issei… Issei was… she wasn't sure on that yet but she liked him a lot.

This was the first time she was able to actually enjoy being in the town, with Issei showing her around and translating for her whenever needed, she no longer had to worry about being unable to understand or be understood.

Just in the short afternoon they'd spent together, she'd seen and done so many things she never imagined existed. Not to forget the amazing food available to everyone, there was evidently something called a burger that could be eaten with one's hands and didn't require a fork and spoon for it, how amazing.

It didn't take very long at all for them to finish grocery shopping, Asia's enthusiasm for all things new whiled the time away so quickly she didn't even notice it.

"Eggs check… well, that's the last of them I think. We got everything on the list, come on Asia, let's go." Putting away the shopping list in his pocket, Issei looked in her direction and smiled. It set her heart aflutter for some reason, but she didn't really want to return just yet.

She didn't have anything against the Hyoudou home but there was just so much left to see and do outside. She didn't know when her good fortune from god would end and she wanted to make the best of it. Although… she didn't quite know how to express it to Issei, he'd already done so much for her and she didn't want to cause him any trouble.

"Hmm? Ah… you're not tired yet, are you? Come on, there's still plenty of daylight left, let's go have some fun." Hearing his words, she nodded vigorously as though he would take back the offer if she didn't show her enthusiasm. Once more Issei had seemed to know just what she wanted and obliged her on it, as his back was turned, Asia clasped her hands together in a short prayer of thanks before running after him.

"Wow..." Asia was in awe of the place Issei brought her to, he called it an arcade and it was filled with so many people at once. She'd only seen that many people in one place during mass in the past, but here it was a chaotic mess. And the noise, it was loud, louder than anything she'd ever experienced. She loved it all.

Issei had guided her to try out every game in the arcade, while she won some, most of the time she ended up staring at a game over screen. Fun as it was to play, she enjoyed watching Issei set records instead, his reactions whenever he made a mistake or accomplished something were most entertaining and never failed to elicit a giggle from her.

"Hmm… what are looking at? Oh." Asia perked up at Issei's voice coming from right behind her, she'd been following behind when she'd been distracted by a crane game with a cute little toy mascot inside it. "Do you like Rache-kun?"

"Hauuu… n-no… t-that's not…" Embarrassed at being caught, she flushed red and wasn't able to meet Issei's eyes. "Eh, what the hell. Stand back, I'll get it for you."

"E-eh? A-ah Ise-san, I-I don't need…"

Gently pushing her to the side, Issei confidently strode up to the machine and inserted a coin. "Don't underestimate my fair maiden, I may not look it but I'm amazing at this kind of games." Pulling off an exaggerated pose as he spoke, Asia giggled in amusement once more.

"Alright… just got to… oooh! Too close… now… gently, gently… there we go!" Grabbing the toy mascot that just dropped, Issei picked up a second smaller version of it that had dropped as well. "Two for the price of one, um hmm, I still got the touch. Here you go Asia, two Rache-kuns as ordered, and look! The second one even has a keychain attached, you can carry it with you wherever you go now. I-if you want to of course."

Hugging her two new dolls to her chest tightly, she was lost for words, eyes misting over, she didn't trust herself to say anything without bursting into tears on the spot. Nobody had ever given her a gift like this before, or any gift at all really.

"Th-thank you very much for this doll Ise-san… I-I'll take good care of it forever." She managed to choke out the words without crying even as she buried her face in her new toy.

"A-ah is that so? If a doll will make you this happy, I'll get you more next time, I uh… I'm out of coins for today sorry." Issei said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Shaking her head, Asia immediately spoke up to correct her benefactor's thinking. "No, these two are special. They represent the first friend I ever made… and… and they're the first gifts anyone has ever given to me. So, I'll treasure them forever!"

Asia wondered if she'd said something weird when Issei did nothing but stare at her face with a strange expression on her face. Wondering if she should apologise for messing something up, she was about to speak when she was cut off by Issei's exclamation.

"Yosh! It's still early, come on, let's just play the whole day today!"

"Hai Ise-san!" Asia smiled as Issei grabbed her hand and led her further into the arcade.

-line break

"Ahhh I'm tired, we sure had a lot of fun today didn't we Asia?"

"Hai Ise-san." Issei watched in amusement as Asia struggled to suppress a yawn and failed at it. "I'm feeling tired now."

"Mmhmm, come on then, let's go home, kaa-san should be done with dinner already. By the time we get back, we'll be able to eat immediately, isn't that wonderful?"

The two walked home on the quiet streets, they'd ended up burning away the entire afternoon having fun. Before either of them had noticed, it was already evening, the sun was still setting and the world was bathed in a brilliant orange glow.

And if Asia's hair seemed to sparkle in the daylight, it truly shined in the evening glow. Issei decided that he could most definitely spend eternity watching Asia's happy face, it warmed his heart that he was able to do something for this poor nun who'd been dealt a bad hand by fate.

'Who knew that date plan I came up on a whim so long ago would actually come in handy? I thought it'd be used for my first ever girlfriend, oh well, it made her smile and I'm okay with that. I never want to see her lose that smile again.' Issei had spent the entire time with her without being plagued by a single perverted thought at all, and he surprisingly didn't mind that at all.

 **[Colonel, urgent message from Gael, his scouts have spotted Jibril returning to Kuoh. Our sensors have corroborated that claim. How shall we proceed.]**

Issei's mood came crashing down in an instant and his mouth set in a grim line. 'Damn! Now of all times? Shit! Sorry Asia, but I need to deal with this.'

"Ah Asia, a moment." As Asia directed an innocent smile his way, Issei hated himself for lying to her but it was for her own good. A 'what can you do' expression on his face, Issei wrung his hands and prepared for his departure.

"I, uh just recalled that I was supposed to help look after my friend's dog for the day. He's out of town with his family and I'm supposed to make sure his dog is alright. So umm, I'm sorry Asia but can you bring the groceries back home first? I might not make it back in time for dinner too so tell the rest not to wait up for me. Is… is that okay?"

"Hai Ise-san! You can count on me." Giving a salute and a big smile, Asia grabbed the bag from his hands and making for home. Smiling bitterly, Issei watched her go before running off in the other direction, praying all the while that she'd make it back in one piece without Jibril or any of his goons noticing her.

Running into a deserted alley, Issei summoned his sacred gear to hand. "All right Sentinel, let's do this. Assault mode now." The silver gauntlet on his hand pulsed once before turning completely silver and liquefying.

The liquid metal rapidly spread up Issei's arm and encased his body entirely. Pulsing at intermittent intervals, it reformed itself into a futuristic suit of armour before hardening. Where an unassuming teenaged boy once stood, there was now a robotic titan that would tower over most, Issei was now a faceless hunter capable of striking terror into the hearts of many a lesser man.

The only thing that would clue an observer into the fact that it was still Issei would be the two gauntlets on his arms, both identical to his original twice critical.

Staring at his fingers which now ended in wickedly sharp claws, Issei clenched his fist and readied himself for battle. Metal on his arm liquefying once more, it reformed itself into an arm cannon with a long barrel. Air around him rippling, Issei faded from view as his optical camouflage took hold, and he slowly floated into the air.

"System's all green, we are good to go."

 **[Colonel, sensors have picked up Jibril in the general vicinity of the destroyed church. He is alone and there are no civilians in the area.]**

"Good… less chance of collateral damage this way."

Thrusters firing silently, Issei launched into the air in search of his target, he hoped the bastard wouldn't try to leave for a more populated part of town otherwise his job would be… complicated.

-line break

As it turned out, he needn't have worried at all. Jibril was exactly where Sentinel said he'd be, hovering high above the destroyed church staring at the rubble with a bored expression on his face. Silver hair shining prominently in the dying light, a pair of mismatched red and green eyes swept the area every few seconds. A frown would mar his face every time as he failed to find what he was looking for.

'Is he waiting for something?'

 **[Unknown. Target hasn't moved since he arrived 10 minutes ago. Recommendation, observe and snipe once opportunity presents itself]**

'Very well, we'll do just that.'

Landing on a grassy knoll close to the treeline, Issei observed his target for several minutes without acting at all. Aside from growing more impatient, Jibril seemed content to just float there.

"I don't like this…" To anyone else, Jibril looked open, but thanks to Issei's experience and the enhanced senses assault mode gave him, he could easily see that Jibril was anything but. The fallen's muscles were taut and his eyes missed nothing, wings tucked in as well, he was prepared to move in any direction at a moment's notice.

"Is he expecting the devils to show? He doesn't appear to be waiting for reinforcements and he isn't even trying to hide."

 **[Unknown. Recommendation, exercise extreme caution.]**

'Noted. Guess I'll fall back for now, put some distance between us.'

Silently activating his thrusters once more, Issei vacated the area with as much haste as he could afford without alerting the cadre class fallen angel to his presence. Falling back to another hill over three miles away from Jibril, Issei took a deep breath as Jibril failed to react to his actions.

'I don't think he noticed me. Alright… I can do this.'

Dropping to one knee, Issei raised his cannon arm and pointed it at Jibril. Feeling the first round slide home, Issei synced his vision with the optics on his gun and resisted the urge to flinch as Jibril seemed to jump towards him, growing from a small speck to a closeup of his face in an instant.

Breathing out, Issei aligned the crosshairs with Jibril's head and prepared to fire. "Whoooo… target is locked, shell loaded and capacitors charging. Don't you move now asshole." Issei listened quietly as a familiar hum grew in strength and his gun neared discharge.

A half kilogram solid titanium shell travelling at mach 8 should be enough firepower to punch through any amount of armour and whatever was hiding behind it, Jibril would be missing the upper half of his torso as soon as it struck home. Well, that was the theory anyway.

"Mistilteinn charge at 89%, firing in 3… 2… 1…!?"

As soon as the count hit one and Issei pulled the trigger, Jibril vanished from his sights. With a thunderous roar, the rail gun discharged in a brilliant display of lightning as the shell rocketed forwards at unbelievable speeds, leaving behind a blue trail of plasma and superheated gas… and not much else.

Issei was dismayed, that was his one chance to end the battle before it began and he'd blown it somehow. He didn't have much time to ponder his mistake though as pain exploded in his side.

Jibril's first kick had lifted him off the ground, the second sent him straight through a long line of trees and the third smashed Issei into the ground so hard he formed a large crater.

Before Issei could catch his breath, he was airborne once more as Jibril started to beat on him like a ragdoll. Punches and kicks flew in from every direction and Issei was unable to stop even a single one in his dazed state.

After a particularly brutal blow to the back, Issei managed to regain enough of himself to flash away from Jibril. Reappearing at the site of the destroyed church, he thought he'd be free to catch his breath for a brief moment.

He thought wrong.

"Predictable."

Jibril was on him in an instant, announcing his presence via a brutal uppercut that sent Issei into the air once more. This time, Issei managed to block the follow up kick, if only just barely. The force behind it still sent him careening backwards though.

By the time he'd recovered, Jibril was merely hovering several feet from him, a bored expression on his face.

"This… is… it? This is the mighty silver wing Cypher warned me about? I must say, I was expecting someone better. This has been a thorough waste of time." Jibril casually insulted Issei in a condescending tone.

Issei didn't deign that with a verbal response, opting to morph his arms into twin Gatling guns and hosing the fallen down with a solid wall of AP lead. 'SENTINEL! I NEED MY WINGS, NOW!'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

Issei's armour shifted once more, becoming more angular around the edges and twin blobs of metal formed into wings on his back. Boosting skywards as fast as he could, Issei continued firing all the way.

Jibril yawned as the bullets bounced harmlessly off his folded wings, not a single one of them making it through to his main body. "How original." Shaking his head, he dashed forwards using his remaining wings to provide the speed he needed.

 **[Colonel, bullets appear to have no effect on target. Recommendation, switch to alternate means of offense.]**

'NO SHIT! I CAN SEE THAT!'

His barrage not working, Issei reformed his weapons into missile launchers and summoned additional turrets from his shoulder and skirt armour. As soon as his sensors indicated target lock, he opened up with a tremendous salvo of rockets, lighting the darkening sky up with countless little streaks of light.

Jibril either unaware of the missiles strength or simply uncaring, rushed headfirst into the storm of missiles. Countless explosions engulfed the crow in a giant ball of fire, the resulting shockwave cleared the clouds and left Issei alone in the wide expanse of the sky.

Continuing to fire his missiles, Issei unloaded a truly massive amount of ordinance on the rapidly expanding ball of fire and smoke. Finally stopping after nearly a full minute of continuous firing, Issei was breathing hard as he waited for the smoke to clear.

When nothing rushed out at him, Issei allowed himself to heave a sigh of relief… only to freeze in place immediately after as Jibril spoke up right next to him.

"Not bad boy, I actually felt that one."

"FUCK!" As Issei spun to address the threat, he came up empty, spinning around in search of his opponent, he came up blank each time.

"Where are you looking at?" Once more turning to face the voice, this time he was met with the sight of a completely unharmed Jibril bringing his heel down on his face. "AAARRRGHH!" With a scream, Issei was once more grounded.

Pulling himself out of the crater, Issei was in bad shape. His armour was cracked in places and he could feel that several of his bones were broken. A long, jagged line ran diagonally down his face plate from where Jibril's foot had connected.

Coughing, Issei painted the inside of his mask with his own crimson lifeblood. 'Wha-what the hell is this, why aren't my wounds healing?' Crawling on all fours, Issei was trying his best to stand when he was forced back to the ground courtesy of Jibril dropping out of the sky like a rock and landing squarely on his back.

Smashed back onto the ground once more, Issei's vision faded in and out of focus. Even more of his bones were shattered now and Jibril's attack had definitely dealt damage to his internal organs. With his healing being spotty at the moment, Issei didn't know if any of the wounds were fatal. The only reason why he was still awake and coherent despite the pain was Sentinel working overtime to block the pain signals from reaching his brain.

Stepping of Issei, Jibril calmly cleaned his foot on the ground, not unlike what one would do after stepping in a pile of turd. Given the situation, that might not have been very far from the truth for Jibril. His previous bored expression had been replaced by one of annoyance.

"I am so disappointed. From Cypher's words I was expecting someone who could give me a challenge… instead, I got you. A wet behind the ears rookie barely worth the time to squash. Oh well, a job is a job."

Reaching down, Jibril grabbed Issei by the neck and lifted him up. "Naïve fool, did you really believe you could defeat a cadre class fallen like me? I am a walking legend boy! You on the other hand… are less than nothing."

"Fu-fuck y-you," Issei managed to spit out despite the pain and the chokehold.

Jibril was not amused. "You think this is funny boy? Well, do you?" Punctuating each word with a powerful blow to the stomach, he left Issei a coughing mess as even more of his visor was coated in blood. "Hahahaha, hhahahahahah, well you only have yourself to blame for this boy. Did you really think you could mess up so many of Cypher's plans and get away with it? Fool, you only live by his grace, and today, that grace just ran out."

"Wh-who the hell is Cypher? I have, have never met him before."

"He is the rightful king of the world, and he soon will be. A filthy mongrel like you doesn't belong in his presence. Even breathing the same air as him is sacrilege." A light spear formed in Jibril's hand.

"You destroyed the Choir, blew up his assembly plants in France and destroyed his labs in the artic, your actions have set him back years, possibly decades. And for that, no punishment is harsh enough."

"H-heh, if I stopped him so easily, t-then he doesn't deserve to be k-king of a-anything other than, than a pile of rubble…. AAHHHH!"

Pulling his spear free from Issei's side, Jibril's face was purple with rage. "INSOLENT FOOL, YOU DARE INSULT HIM!? YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW AND PAINFUL WORM, AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, YOU MERELY DELAYED HIS GLORIOUS RETURN, NOT STOPPED IT. NOTHING CAN STOP IT."

"P-piss off asshole. The Choir wa-was a den of monsters pretending to be human. Hi-his assembly plants a madhouse and his labs a place of nightmares. I-if he is behind those, he is not fit to be king. I'd rather die than live in a world where that is the case."

"hahahhahaha." Jibril's face returned to its initial bored look, no trace of his anger remaining, only his eyes belied the white-hot rage burning beneath the surface.

"Well, you, fool, that, is, kind, of, the, idea." Stabbing Issei in the stomach once after every word and dropping him at the end, he left Issei bleeding on the ground, his torso filled with multiple holes and leaking from all of them.

Unwilling to give up, Issei flashed behind Jibril in a burst of sparks, reshaping his gauntlets into a long silver spike, he stabbed towards Jibril. Unfortunately for him, all he did was score a shallow cut on Jibril's cheek as the fallen tilted his head to avoid the blow.

"Ah, very nice speed, but just so predictable." Grabbing Issei's arm as it passed, Jibril flipped Issei over with a judo throw and impaled him with a light spear for good measure. "You can only warp to any point where there is a piece of you to use as a marker, that leaves your options so very limited."

Breath's coming in gasps now, Issei was close to expiring and both knew it. "What a waste of my time, well you did one good thing for me at least. Thanks to your foolish actions, the Sekiryuutei and the nun are in the same place, saves me the trouble of tracking them down."

"Wh-why are you after them?"

"The red dragon has the potential to be annoying in the future, best to nip the problem in the bud. As for the nun, she possesses a most interesting sacred gear, twilight healing, something capable of greater healing potential than even phoenix tears. Once I mass produce that, I'll be able to create an immortal army capable of healing from even the greatest of wounds, Cypher will be unstoppable. Of course, the girl will die for that to happen, but it is an honour to be sacrificed for the cause."

"Fuck you!" With one last burst of strength dredged up from somewhere deep inside him, Issei summoned the Muramasa blade and activated his twice critcal's boost to give his arm all the power and speed he had left in him.

Thrusting at Jibril's heart, Issei hoped to at least take the bastard with him.

Alas it was not to be. Jibril easily grabbed hold of Issei's outstretched hand while sidestepping the blade.

"And here's another thing that rightfully belongs to Cypher. We sent Shinn to retrieve it only for you to kill him and steal this sword." Staring at the pink hued blade, Jibril tutted in disappointment. "You don't even know how to use the blade right."

As if to prove that point, Jibril snapped Issei's arm with a quick twist and stabbed the blade into his shadow. The blade sunk in without resistance and emerged from Issei's own, opening up yet another stab wound in his side.

"The Chikage, how aptly named. I will be taking the blood shadow now." Without any further fanfare, Jibril ripped Issei's arm off at the elbow, leaving the boy to scream on the ground. Pulling off the attached arm and tossing it to the side, he inspected the blade for any damage and was satisfied to find nothing. Dropping the sword into his shadow, the blade disappeared into it and Issei felt the connection between him and it cut.

Despair set in, everything Issei threw at him had been countered just as his buddies had warned days before. Refusing to meet his end as a coward, Issei stared up at his killer defiantly.

"Oooh… you have good eyes boy, you would have made an excellent officer if you hadn't stood against Cypher. Since you're about to die anyway, I might as well clue you in to why you lost. You see, I know everything about your abilities now thanks to Cypher. You bonded with a metal based organism of unknown origin and gained the ability to absorb virtually any piece of technology you touch and even other organisms to gain their memories and abilities."

Issei remained silent as Jibril continued his rant.

"A result of your combined experiences is that you only have two approaches to any combat scenario given the initiative. You either launch an all-out charge or snipe your target from a distance. And your favourite weapon is that rail gun of yours, the one thing you had capable of actually killing me. But then, in the instant before it fires, it gives off an energy signature that gives away your position to anyone who knows to look for it."

At this point, Jibril stopped speaking and gestured to Issei's broken form.

"And of course, your greatest asset, the ability to heal from just about any damage… much like a phenex in that regard. But. It has a weakness does it not? You don't actually heal, you just absorb whatever is damaged and replace it with the metal organism before turning it back into human flesh. And you made the mistake of tying it to your sacred gear, all I had to do to kill you was jam that connection and your replacement ability no longer works. Granted, it isn't perfected yet else you'd be dead by now."

Throwing his head back in laughter, Jibril spread his ten wings before taking flight. "Well the point is moot anyway, you've taken too much damage to survive but whatever's left of your ability won't let you die so easily. Enjoy your demise insect hahahhahaha!"

 **[Critical system failure. Structural integrity at 23.8%. Multiple organs shutting down now. Total system failure in 12 min]**

Issei was no longer able to respond to that. Vision blurry he believed he was beginning to hallucinate. Multiple lights and colours flashed by his eyes.

 **[Total system failure in 3 min]**

'Kaa-san, Tou-san, Haruna, Asia, Motohama, Matsuda… I'm sorry.' As his vision approached total darkness, Issei thought he saw a one-armed man approaching him. 'heh, shishou, guess I never amounted to anything in the end… I'm… sorry…'

 **[Total system failure. Vital signs… 0]**

* * *

Author's notes: well, not really sure what to say here. Thanks for reading anyway, to anyone curious about what Issei's assault mode armour looks like, look up Cybuster from SRW.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

Author's note: short chapter this time round, most of this is dialogue though and I'm introducing a new character. If anyone manages to figure out who Issei's mentor and Cypher are from their names alone, kudos to you and have a cookie

 **Chapter 6** : One more go

"Nnngghh…" Issei wasn't expecting to ever wake again, but wake he did. Bringing his arms up to shield his eyes from the bright light, it took him several seconds of blinking before they adjusted. He found himself lying on a bed. A ceiling fan spun in lazy circles on the wooden ceiling above him and sunlight streamed in from the window next to the bed.

Pushing the sheets off him, Issei sat up groggily and clutched his forehead, a brief spike of pain running through it. 'Where the hell am I? Sentinel, any ideas?... Sentinel?'

Silence met his query, putting it off for the moment, Issei scanned the room he was in. The room was about as simple as they came, most of the furnishings were made of wood or stone, a old beat up grandfather clock was slowly ticking the time away near the door. An unused fireplace sat in the corner and a table was situated against the wall.

A one armed old man occupied it at the moment drinking to his heart's content. Downing his drink, he turned to face Issei with a genial smile. "Ah gaki, it's nice to see you awake again. How ya feeling?"

"…Shishou?"

"Hahahaha, who else?"

"…Are we both dead?"

The old man scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner before replying. "Well, I guess you could say that. Although, that's entirely up to you."

"I don't get it. Am I dead or not?"

"Like I said, that's entirely up to you. But… before you decide, why not have a little chat with your sensei eh? I haven't seen you in almost five years now." Issei blinked once, unable to comprehend what his sensei just said. "Shishou… it hasn't even been two years yet."

"Oh? I guess you'd see it that way, time doesn't really flow right here. Two for you, five for me, what's the difference?"

"Is… is this all in my head?"

"Hahaha, I guess you could say that, but that's not entirely correct either. This room is a construct of your subconscious, your mindscape if you will, today I'm just a visitor."

"I need to go back, Shishou, Jibril is after my family, I cannot let him win. I need to go back."

"And do what exactly?" The old man's face lost his cheerfulness and his tone hardened. "Jibril is a cadre class fallen angel with ten wings, what do you expect to do against him? I could send you back, but then you'd just die again and what would that accomplish?"

"Shishou… I can't… I can't just do nothing. I don't want to lose anyone ever again." Bunching the sheets in his fists, Issei bowed his head and smiled bitterly.

He was dragged out of his self-pity by a hard chop to his head by the old man's one good arm. "And you've forgotten everything I taught you. What possessed you to even think about facing Jibril in open combat?"

"Shi-shishou?"

"I don't suppose if you've noticed it but you're human, he isn't. You may be stronger and harder to kill than the average man thanks to that little buddy of yours in your arm, but it doesn't change your core. How many times do I have to tell you this, humans are inherently squishy. It doesn't take much to hurt or break one, as a human if you continuously bang your head against a mountain you're gonna give yourself a concussion or break something important. Congratulations gaki, you ignored my words and successfully broke yourself against the mountain that is Jibril."

"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!? HE'S TOO STRONG! NOTHING I TRIED EVEN AFFECTED HIM."

"And that is why I say you've forgotten my teachings. Did it ever occur to you that you could run? I know you've seeded parts of Sentinel all around the world in the various places you've visited, what's stopping you from retreating to anywhere else in the world by teleport?"

"Tha… that is… I didn't…"

"Yes… you didn't think. I keep telling you to use your head gaki, violence and brute force can't solve everything. Yet you refuse to listen to me, do you think I'm just spouting bullshit for the fun of it?"

"I… I… I…" Issei was unable to come up with a response. It had been one of the first lessons his sensei had ever tried to drill into his head and the one he had been instructed to remember over all else, yet it was the one lesson he'd completely neglected.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a strategic retreat when you find yourself outclassed, it is the same thing that's allowed your ancestors to survive to this day and it will be the only thing that keeps you alive in the future. Humanity didn't reach the present day by facing every threat they encountered head on, they studied, adapted, came up with new ways of dealing with problems their meagre strength alone couldn't overcome. They evolved. Anyone who didn't generally didn't last very long, it's up to you now which of those two types you want to be."

The old man shrugged and picked up another glass before chugging its contents as well, giving his words time to sink into Issei.

"I understand… but what difference does it make? I'm dead, aren't I? What more can I do?" Issei choked out the words in a defeated tone.

"Quit talking like that gaki, I didn't train no quitter. Whether or not you stay dead this time is entirely up to you, like I said, time doesn't flow right here, nothing on the outside matters right now. There's still time yet to talk, you're not due back for a while. Of course, this is a one-time deal, you die again and it's for keeps."

Grabbing the chair, the old man shifted it closer to the bed before taking a seat. "Think of it is something similar to that buddy of yours who keeps reliving the same day over and over again."

"Mat…suda? I… see… then shishou, do you have any idea how I can beat Jibril?"

"Nope." Having his sensei say it in such a nonchalant manner, Issei nearly facefaulted on the spot. "Shishou, please, I can't beat him on my own."

"Yes you can't. So why are you asking me for an answer you already know?"

Issei frowned in confusion and thought for a moment before s tray thought wormed its way in. "The devils?"

"Bingo, got it in one. There's no shame in asking for help."

"And if they ask for my soul? This favour isn't exactly light."

"They're more likely to ask you to join them as one of their own."

"So I lose my humanity then."

"Gaki, at this point you're only half human. It's up to you to decide if you value the remaining half more than saving your family. Hmmm, weren't you the one who told me you'd sacrifice your own soul if it meant keeping your family safe when we first met? Time to live up to those words."

"…Will I gain the power I need?"

"It will allow you to evolve beyond your human limits, but give you enough power to take Jibril head on… didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Shishou… I need a way to beat him. None of my weapons work on him, the one thing capable of dealing damage happens to have a tell that he knows to look for, everything else just bounces off. He's faster, stronger, more agile than me. I don't know what to do."

"Sure you do, you're still looking at him as one of the many monsters you've fought over the past… what was it two years? Perhaps your experiences have clouded your judgement, most of those beings have no weaknesses beyond hitting them until they're dead. Jibril is different though, he has his own weaknesses, chiefly no matter how strong he is, he is still a fallen angel. You live with a nun now don't you? Have her make some holy water or something then spit it in his face. Kick him in the nuts when he's too busy clawing of his own face then go to town on him. Easy."

"…"

"What? Came up with it off the top of ma head, not bad right? I am a genius even if I do say so myself. Sometimes the simplest plans work best gaki, less things to go wrong."

"If you say so Nogiel shishou…"

"Awww, my cute student has no faith in me… well try to think out of the box more often, logic has its place but it isn't always the best approach, especially if your logic is tainted by imperfect information… but I think you already know that."

Issei winced as he recalled the beatdown he suffered at Jibril's hands after his plan fell apart.

Nogiel looked at the clock and slapped his knee before rising to his feet. "My, my look at the time. It's about time to go I think."

"I thought time didn't flow right here."

"For you it doesn't, this isn't my mindscape, I'm just a visitor here. The rules aren't exactly the same for both of us. Hahahaha, I have my own job to do and I'll be seeing you soon… well soon for me anyway. By the way, Jibril isn't aware of your threat level yet, he's just trying to bait you out by waiting at the destroyed church. If you don't go, you should have a few more days to prepare."

Issei frowned again and accepted his mentor's words. "So as long as I don't show up, he'll wait a bit more before making his move. Okay. I got it. But… how do I return to the past anyway?"

"Ah well, you see this place isn't part of reality. Your mindscape is the only thing solid here, haven't you taken a look outside the window?"

"I did, there's nothing there."

"How astute, that's mainly because there isn't anything outside but time. Thanks to my intervention, your mindscape is like a pebble in the river of time, I've anchored it to right after your date. I'd give you more time, but doing something like this isn't easy and this is the best I can do."

"The river of time? It exists… and you can traverse it!?"

"Hahahaha oh gaki, you have so much to learn, few things are truly impossible in this world of ours. It's all a question of will. Who knows, maybe one day you'll find yourself navigating the river on your own. But, that's a question for another time... heheheheh pun intended."

Issei stared blankly at his sensei. "Shishou, who or what are you exactly."

"I… am complicated. It was nice of you to take my catchphrase as your own though, makes me proud that you look up to your old sensei so much."

"…"

"You'll figure it out eventually, it's all in the name."

"I don't get it."

"Don't expect you to. Oh! And one last thing. Jibril's master? The one known as Cypher, he has a lot to answer for but I want you _never_ to go after him until I say you can. He exists on a completely different level compared to everyone else. Jibril is but an insect to him, you go after him personally and he'll crush you before you can do anything."

"…You're afraid of him."

"Yes. Yes I am. Who do you think ripped off my arm? He broke me a long time ago and I still haven't recovered to this day."

"…"

"I suggest you put it out of your mind for now. Stopping his plans wherever you can is fine, he's too lazy to deal with you in person unless you actually show up on his front door."

"…Very well Shishou."

"Hmmph this time, try to remember my lessons. Now come on, it's time to go." Opening the door for Issei, the same white light was all that could be seen outside it. "Just step through the door gaki, you'll be sent back immediately after."

Rising from the bed, Issei strode unsteadily over to the door, pausing to give his sensei a hug before he left. "I'll miss you again after this shishou. Will… will I be seeing you again?"

"Dumb gaki, of course you will. As to when… well I'll see you when I see you. Come now, time's a wasting, go on… walk into the light."

"Hai shishou."

Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, Issei strode through the doorway without looking back and the all-consuming light engulfed him.

-line break

"Nnngghh…" Bringing his arms up to shield his eyes from the bright light, it took him several seconds of blinking before they adjusted.

"Ise-san… is… is everything alright?"

Issei stared down at Asia's concerned face as the fog cleared from his mind. Before he could say anything, Sentinel's voice interrupted him.

 **[Colonel, urgent message from Gael, his scouts have spotted Jibril returning to Kuoh. Our sensors have corroborated that claim. How shall we proceed.]**

'What the… Sentinel did you get all that?"

 **[I do not understand your query colonel.]**

'No, never mind. We won't act just yet, keep an eye on his movements and inform me if he appears to be preparing to attack.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

"Nothing's wrong Asia, no need to worry about me. Come on, let's go home for dinner." Issei gave a reassuring smile as he allayed the nun's fears

"Hai Ise-san!" Smiling cheerfully back, Asia set off for the Hyoudou home with Issei a few steps behind. Looking up at the orange sky, Issei reflected on Nogiel's words.

'Rest assured shishou, I won't forget your lessons this time. I'll make you proud yet, I promise.'


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

Author's note: Enjoy

 **Chapter 7** : Chess pieces

 **[Colonel, I must profess that this is a bad idea. It is illogical to leave so much up to chance.]**

'I am well aware of that Sentinel, but this is our best shot. Jibril is too strong to be beaten in a straight fight. If all else fails, there's the Shiva, I believe that even he is incapable of surviving that.'

Sunday morning found Issei en route to Kuoh academy, ready to close a few more deals before his rematch with Jibril. Fortune had favoured him with just over four days of preparation time and today was the day everything came to fruition.

After Issei destroyed the first sacred gear extractor by accident in the old church, they'd been forced to wait for the replacement that just arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Jibril's forces had been massing for a while now and they had long since reached critical mass, Issei had no intention of allowing them the first strike, that honour would be his.

"Ah… kind sir… would you spare some change for an old cripple?" Issei was pulled from his thoughts by a beggar on the side of the road asking for alms. Dressed in a beat up old trench coat, his face gaunt and unshaven, he'd seen better days.

"Your arms and legs seem fine, if you're trying to bullshit me out of my money you're going to have to do better than that." Issei spoke, unimpressed by the show.

"Your words wound me good sir, I've lost my job, I've lost my friends, I've lost my family… and I was robbed of everything I had a few days ago. Please sir, I'm so hungry, I just need some money for food so I can attend a job interview later. My spirit is not broken yet, I'll do better, I promise."

Issei blinked in surprise at that before cracking a smile and tossing a coin into the beggar's bowl. "Hah! Well that was creative I'll admit, here's a coin for your performance."

"Oh! Thank you, kind sir, I'll turn everything around soon, just you wait and see."

"Hahahaha! I'll be looking forwards to it."

Mood lifted, Issei resumed his journey with a spring in his step. Sure, there were still plenty of things that could go wrong, but things were progressing smoothly so far and he allowed himself to find some solace in that.

-line break

"Hello Koneko-chan, what are you doing here on a Sunday?" Issei found the petite devil exactly where Sentinel said she'd be, tending to a small flower patch outside the old school building.

"…"

"Silent treatment as always huh? Well that just breaks my heart."

"…Why are you here pervert sempai?"

"Oooh… you have a sharp tongue Koneko-chan. And I'm here on business today." Still smiling, Issei pulled out a familiar blank mask from his jacket before holding it over his face. "I did say I'd drop by eventually. Is she in?"

"So it was you… Buchou is out at the moment."

"Hmmm… well that's a shame, I was hoping I'd be able to speak with her." Shrugging, Issei didn't bother calling out Koneko on her lie, as long as he achieved his objective it didn't really matter which devil he dealt with. "In any case, is there anywhere more private we can have a discussion? Walls have ears after all."

"…Follow me. If you try anything perverted, I will break you."

"You mean you will try and fail. Relax, I'm here on business today." Issei followed Koneko to an unused classroom in the building where he plopped himself down on one of the empty seats.

"I'm sure you're wondering who I am, what I want and most importantly whether I'm a threat or not. I don't feel like repeating myself so you'll just have to wait until I explain it to Rias or get it from her afterwards. I am aware that you are devils, and I have it on good authority that devils grant wishes in exchange for a something of equal value. Am I correct in that?"

"Yes."

"Oooh, straight to the point and no bullshit huh, I can respect that. Well, I have a wish that needs granting. I'd get it done myself but I'm short on time, I need a miracle if you will, so here I am."

Koneko continued staring blankly at Issei, her face giving away nothing. The pervert wasn't what she'd been expecting, even when she was suspicious of his identity the last time they met, he constantly found a way to throw off her expectations. And… she was disconcerted that despite Issei's expressiveness she was unable to get a read on his intentions.

"The price will be proportional to the value of what you're asking for. The harder it is to achieve by your own hands, the larger the price you'll have to pay. Are you aware of that."

"Yup! I did my research you know. So… can you grant my wish?"

"…What do you wish for. A harem? The ability to talk to breasts? The ability to peep with impunity?"

"Wow… you really don't like me do you. And those are very tempting… my own harem… I will be a harem king aaahhhhh…" Issei put on a lecherous face and pretended to drool at the thought, feeling a small twinge of satisfaction as he noticed Koneko's face twitching slightly in disgust.

He was aware of Koneko's intentions behind throwing out those barbs. On the one hand, she probably genuinely disliked him, his actions hardly endeared him to the female populace after all, but on the other, she was almost definitely trying to get him to slip up and reveal his intentions. Playing along was easy enough, despite everything, he was still a man and he'd be lying if he said he'd completely given up on his childhood dream to have a harem.

"Nah, never mind, tempting as the offer is, I'm not here for that." Dropping the dumb pervert act, he reverted to his original state fast enough to give someone whiplash. "No, what I wish for, is a perfect replica of these two items. And before you say it my dear Koneko-chan, no, I did not knock someone up and get roped into a shotgun wedding… as much as I wish that were the case."

Handing Koneko a sheet of paper, the white-haired devil studied it closely. Koneko was perplexed, no matter how she looked at it, the design was just that of two completely ordinary rings. They were beautifully designed and in all honesty a work of art, but not the kind of thing someone would make a deal with devils for. Looking up at Issei with suspicion, she couldn't tell what he was planning at all.

"You risk your soul for a pair of rings? Can't you just turn in a custom request at a jeweller?"

Shrugging, Issei answered that question honestly. "Like I said Koneko-chan, I'm short on time. I need the rings by today, hardly enough time to get things done the proper way."

Seeing that Issei was unwilling to divulge any further information, Koneko simply input his wish into a small device shaped like a handheld gaming console. "It will cost you something of equivalent monetary value. As long as you can pay your life won't be…"

Her words were cut off by Issei casually removing a gold ingot from his jacket and setting it down on the table in front of her. "Will that do? It is 100% pure gold. To be frank, I was kind of expecting you to ask for my soul in exchange, but if it's monetary value alone, that's hardly an issue for me… what? Not enough?" When Koneko didn't immediately respond, he pulled out a second ingot and set it next to the first.

"N-no… that will be enough." Koneko was surprised by Issei's sudden show of wealth but reined it in soon enough before keying in a few lines into the machine. Issei watched in fascination as she held her hands together and an aura of demonic energy formed around Koneko. After taking a deep breath, the energy flowed to her hands and coalesced into two small objects.

"Can I see them?" When the devil nodded, Issei picked up the two rings and carefully inspected them for any flaws, a smile breaking out when he found none. "Marvellous, not a single imperfection to be found. Pleasure doing business with you Koneko-chan. Oh and have another gold bar, consider it thanks for the prompt service. Now have a nice day." Pulling out a third gold bar, he sat it before the devil and made for the exit.

"…Who are you really."

"I am complicated. I was going to explain it but since your boss doesn't wasn't to see me at the moment, there's not much I can do. And yes, I do know that she's in the room above us listening in. Alas, I have places to be and things to do, so once more I bid you farewell."

Executing a mock bow, he waited just long enough for Koneko to get over her shock and lunge for him before exploding in a shower of blue sparks, taking the rings with him.

"…Annoying."

-line break

 **[Colonel, was it wise to antagonise the devils like that.]**

'Probably not, but I couldn't resist, it was just too easy. Besides, by keeping them guessing, I retain the advantage in later negotiations.'

 **[You still intend to join the peerage?]**

'I intend to keep that option on the table. Whether or not I do so depends entirely on the outcome of the negotiations.' Fingering the rings, Issei once more marvelled at their workmanship. 'Devil magic really is impressive… modifications are done, on to phase 2.'

Pocketing the completed rings, Issei whistled a happy tune as he made his way home from his warehouse base. Taking a route through the crowded sections of the town, he evaded several attempts at tracking him by Jibril's agents, although the sheer number of people he bumped into slowed his speed to a crawl.

 **[Colonel, Haruna and Asia have left the house.]**

Checking his watch, Issei shrugged. 'They did say they were going shopping today, I'm not too worried about them. In any case do you think Rias will be at the house by now?'

 **[Sensors indicate she hasn't arrived.]**

'Odd, I was expecting her to show up earlier, never mind, that just gives us more time. Are Gael's bloodhounds in position?'

 **[Not yet, they require an additional two hours before preparations are complete.]**

'Damn, well as long as they make it in time I couldn't care less.'

Upon reaching home, Issei greeted his parents before heading for his room to continue work on his final contingency plan. A small silver dagger lay on his table, even in the dim light of his room, the metal seemed to glow.

A parting gift from Nogiel, the dagger was a complete pain in the ass to manufacture even with Sentinel's ability to form just about anything from metal. Issei still didn't know how his sensei had done it but he'd somehow uploaded the information to his brain directly without him ever noticing.

Crafting the weapon was a surreal experience for him, most of the time he felt like he was taking a backseat in his mind as his body worked on autopilot, giving directions to Sentinel he didn't even know he knew until the words left his mouth.

A metric ton of holy water had gone into its creation, fortunately Asia was more than willing to aid him in the process, not really questioning why he needed so much. This one dagger had occupied his attention for the better part of his four days of preparation, even now it wasn't complete just yet, a few final touches needed to be added. Issei prayed the dagger would do its job if he actually needed to use it, this thing was good for only one use before it would shatter like glass. If it failed… well he refused to entertain that thought.

The time just flew past him as he continued tinkering with his project, only the sound of unfamiliar voices coming from below drew his attention away.

"Ah! You must be Rias-chan and Akeno-chan, Haruna has told me so much about you two. Come in, come in, she's out at the moment but make yourselves at home."

"Thank you for your hospitality Mrs Hyoudou."

'So, they're finally here… about time. And I'm done with the dagger as well, excellent.' Stretching, Issei stood, stored the dagger in his sacred gear and made his way down to greet the visitors. He couldn't miss them for the world, two big breasted beauties waited on the couch, Issei paused for a moment to appreciate the view before making his way over.

"Ara ara, so this is our mystery man. I expected someone taller." Akeno noticed him first and greeted him good naturedly. "And I was expecting you earlier. You're late."

"Fufufu, my apologies, but we were caught up with our club activities, do forgive us." Akeno never lost her smile and folded her arms as she addressed Issei. It did… interesting things to her chest as Issei noted.

"I've put a hypnosis spell over your parents, they won't be bothering us for now so we can talk in peace."

"As long as that's all you did that's fine."

"Oh?"

"If you hurt them, I'll kill you." Issei said with his eyes closed and a large smile on his face. Rias and Akeno failed to respond for a moment, they could tell that Issei was completely serious in his declaration and the way he'd delivered his threat sent shivers down their spines. They'd been threatened with death before from stray devils and exorcists but never had one done so with such a cheerful face… or give them the impression that he'd actually succeed.

"Ahem, well there's no need for violence today I hope. We're not here to fight." Rias tried placating Issei before the situation got out of hand. "I should hope not. In any case, you must have questions right? Go on, ask, I'll answer as best I can. Relax… I don't bite… unless you want me to."

Exchanging a glance at Issei's sudden shift in attitude, Rias and Akeno decided to push on with why they were here at all. "Yes… you are the unknown that's been causing problems in my territory aren't you. The church's destruction and the missing fallen, those were your doing?"

"Mmmmm, I am one of the 'unknowns', not the only one by far. As to the church and the missing crows… yup! That was all me." Cheerfully answering the questions, he waited for their next queries.

"What do you mean one of the unknowns. There are more of you? Who are you anyway, what is your purpose here. One of my peerage was attacked a few days ago by a fallen looking for the one responsible and a nun you brought here, are you trying to start a war?" Rias fired off a slew of rapid questions as Issei held up his hands signalling for her to slow down.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down princess. One question at a time, how do you expect me to answer if you won't even let me speak. First off, I can assure you that there is only one of me, the other unknowns aren't with me. What else was there? Oh yes, who am I, I am Hyoudou Issei, adopted son of the Hyoudous and Haruna's younger brother."

"Grrr, you know what I'm asking." Rias was losing patience with Issei, so far none of her questions had been answered satisfactorily.

"Yup, and that is exactly who I am. If I was someone else before being adopted, I'm sorry but I can't answer that since I lost my memories. My purpose here? Don't really have one beyond keeping my family and by extension Kuoh safe."

"You destroyed a church and attacked the fallen. As much as I enjoy seeing those crows suffer, I must admit that your actions are more likely to start a war in Kuoh than keep it safe." Akeno interjected before Rias could blow up again.

"The church was an accident, I didn't realise just how old the supports were and I uh accidentally knocked over the few pillars still strong enough to hold it up. And just for the record, the crow attacked me first, thought I was just some chump he could jump at night, I showed him otherwise."

"Hmmm… doesn't change that your actions have upset the status quo, the fallen might wage war because of this, are you willing to take responsibility for that? Fufufu… naughty boys like you need to be punished you know~" Akeno said in a sultry tone and Issei found himself very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Uh… yeah… I'm just gonna ignore that last bit. And status quo? _Might_ wage war? The status quo has been broken for quite a while now, and if you haven't already noticed, they've already declared war. They did so when you obtained your new pawn. When they murdered my sister. My actions have hastened nothing, I've actually delayed open conflict, you should be thanking me for that."

"How do you- never mind, what about the nun then?" Rias, in control of her emotions once more, spoke up again. "Happy coincidence that one. I ran into her while out on a walk one day, found out she was assigned to the church that I uh… broke. She didn't have a place to stay and this house happens to have a spare room, I offered, she accepted and that was that. As to the fallen's attack on Haruna… I've already made my… displeasure… known to the one responsible. She will trouble you no more."

"You… dealt with her?"

"I did, I do not take kindly to people messing with those I care for."

"…Alright, say I believe you. Your actions in my territory is a problem though."

"Your territory? I'm sorry, but I don't recall you mentioning anywhere that Kuoh belongs to you. I'm willing to bet the residents will protest your claim. And, I know more than a few who would contest that claim."

"Kuoh is under the jurisdiction of the devils, I was put in charge of this territory by the maou, you will respect that." Rias stated her opinion on the matter in no uncertain terms.

Issei didn't immediately respond, he just leant back and looked at the crimson headed devil princess out of his half-closed eyes before chuckling briefly. "All due respect, this means one of two things. Either the person who put you in charge was an idiot or you're just plain incompetent."

"HOW DARE YOU! I WILL-" Rias suppressed anger exploded to the front at Issei's insult and a dark red aura formed around her. "Rias, please calm down, we didn't come here to fight, Haruna wouldn't be happy if you attacked her brother."

"I… I… You're right Akeno." Shuddering as she took a calming breath, Rias forced herself to calm down before glaring at Issei who hadn't reacted to her outburst in the slightest. Not trusting herself to continue without exploding again, she subtly motioned for her queen to continue in her place.

"Now, now, that wasn't very nice Issei. And Rias has been in charge of this place for a few years now, it is common knowledge by this point. There's no need to be rude… we're all friends here right?" Once more folding her arms and pushing up her chest, Akeno placated the boy although she did wonder how he didn't know Rias was in charge of Kuoh town. Most supernatural factions knew about it if only to pay attention to the actions of the younger sisters of the two members of the Yondaimaou.

"Oooh… very nice oppai Akeno-chan. But I speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Unless the both of you are a lot older than you look, who the hell puts a bunch of teenagers in charge of an entire region? And of course, there's the bit where your borders have been breached so many times without you being aware. It doesn't exactly paint a picture of competence you know."

Shrugging her shoulders in a what can you do fashion, Akeno had no real counter to those arguments. "In all honesty, Kuoh was supposed to be a peaceful place where the largest threat would be the odd rouge exorcist and stray devil, nothing beyond our ability to handle. And we don't interfere in the lives of humans except to grant wishes. Your… actions are the biggest problem we've had to face in… well ever actually."

"And my sister's assassination? It's fortunate you had nothing to do with that and have treated her well so far, otherwise I'd have killed you."

"We of the Gremory peerage look after our own like family, we'd never ill-treat one of our own. I… I am sorry that we weren't able to prevent your sister's death Issei-kun, the fallen who did that hasn't appeared out of nowhere and struck without warning. He hasn't reappeared since, but since he only has two wings we will be able to deal with him if he shows up again."

"That's right! I don't stand for anyone hurting my peerage. As a high-class devil, a low ranked two-winged angel won't be much of a problem for me." Rias interjected at this point, wanting to show off a bit. Being put down as incompetent by one of the perverted trio hurt her pride a lot more than she was willing to admit.

Both king and queen stared confusedly at Issei as he burst out laughing at their statement. "Ahahahahah! Oh my god. You actually believe ahahahhaha! I can't… ahhahahahha!" Wincing at the mention of god, they waited for his sudden mirth to subside.

"That was the best joke I've heard in a while, thanks for that." Rias's brow twitched at the comment. "I assure you Mr Hyoudou, that was no joke, I don't take kindly to people hurting my peerage. And that two-winged crow will pay for it."

Shaking his head in an exaggerated show of disappointment, Issei continued. "And you wonder why I question your competence. You try fighting him and you're gonna die simple as that."

"Hmmph, we aren't so weak as to be beaten by one fallen angel."

"Oh no? Not even if that one fallen angel has been hiding his strength?"

"I don't understand."

"That crow that killed my sister? I've already fought him."

"And?"

"I lost. Completely crushed without effort."

"Ara ara? And there I thought you were strong, yet you lost against a low-ranking crow. Fufufu, maybe I've overestimated you."

"Or you've been suckered and are completely underestimating the opposition. Let me tell you a secret, that son of a bitch isn't a two winged fallen. He has ten, fucking, wings. If you still don't get it, I'll spell it out for you, he is a cadre class fallen, one of the vets of your great war and easily one of the strongest fallen angels in existence. Oh, and the bit about how you'll kill him if you meet him? You might not even get the chance to try, since he has an army of fallen and rouge exorcists just waiting on the outskirts of town. Do you understand just how severe the situation is now? Or do I have to draw a fucking picture."

Rias and Akeno were stunned into silence at his words. If Issei was telling the truth, they were in way over their heads. "And… and how can you be so sure of that. How can we trust you?"

"While I've only just been introduced to the supernatural, I've been dealing with more bullshit than anyone has the right to, so I like being prepared and that means I have surveillance systems installed everywhere in this town. It's how I know you had nothing to do with Haruna's death, it's how I know you were listening in on my earlier wish request and it's how I picked up the army massing at our doorsteps. As to trusting me… I don't expect you to do so, I haven't done anything to earn that trust yet. I just expect you to keep an open mind."

"Only… just…!? If you knew about all that, why didn't you come find us earlier, it might be too late now!" Rias was unable to comprehend Issei's intentions, he might be lying but there really was no benefit for him to do that, conversely if there really was a ten winged fallen angel here in Kuoh to cause trouble… even if she asked for help from her brother now, he might not make it in time.

"Well, I have a plan to deal with that bastard, if I'd informed you earlier you'd have screwed everything up."

"And how would we have done that? I'd have called for reinforcements." Rias spoke in a dangerous tone, nothing this day had gone according to plan and she wasn't happy about it. "Yes you would, and turned all of Kuoh into a war zone. Jibril isn't the kind of person to worry about collateral damage. As soon as he detects the devil army here, he'll attack immediately to settle things before your side is ready. Thousands will die. And I will not allow that."

Rias's heart sank at the name Issei so casually dropped. She couldn't afford not to take his words seriously even if he proved to be lying.

The Gremory heiress knew of Jibril, few devils didn't. While nowhere near as prominent as the other leaders of the Grigori, he had cultivated a reputation as the invincible head of the Grigori's black ops. Under his command, his forces had a staggering 87% success rate on even the most suicidal of missions, his own combat prowess was nothing to sneer at either. He'd cut his way out of countless unwinnable scenarios against both the armies of heaven and the forces of hell on multiple occasions leaving behind a truly terrifying mountain of corpses.

"THE SHADOW HIMSELF IS HERE!?" Rias exclaimed with more than a little fear in her voice before calming down once again. "Alright, so what do you propose we do? Neither my peerage nor Sona's is complete, we won't survive open conflict with the crows if their army is as large as you imply it to be. You have a plan, so let's hear it."

"Fortunately for us, his army is mostly held together by fear of him, kill him and their will to fight will be broken. To that end, I have set up a few different methods, even in the event of my demise I will be taking him with me. The only thing I don't have confidence in is my ability to keep civilian casualties to zero. And that is where you come in."

"…You want us to protect the humans? What about the army?"

"The army will be occupied, and I'd rather you have a method to evacuate the town in an instant, teleport the residents away all at once or something."

"You're not going to protect the town itself?"

"I will do my best, but collateral damage is inevitable. And I'm not about to ask any of you to eat a light spear to protect a civilian. Can you do it?"

"We… can… but it'll take time to prepare the spell array."

"I'll buy you the time you need. Anything else?"

"How… how do you intend to beat him when so many have failed."

"I'm not going to beat him in a straight fight, tried that once didn't work out so well. Like I said, I've set a few traps for him, if by some chance he survives everything and finishes me off. Well, I'm going out with a bang, Kuoh will be a crater after that though so evacuate the civilians fast."

"You're willing to die for victory?"

"Pretty much, I'm only human, humans tend to die when going up against forces of nature. Though one human life for that of a cadre class fallen, you don't get such a deal very often, peace is worth any price." Issei stated with seriousness, his eyes belied the resolve behind his words and washed away any doubt the two still had.

Rias and Akeno revaluated their opinion of the boy once more after hearing his conviction. In the beginning, they figured he was nothing more than a simple pervert, then a dangerous maverick and now someone willing to pay the ultimate price just for peace.

"I have misjudged you and I apologise for my earlier outbursts. I don't know how much help we can give aside from evacuating the town, but we'll try to reach your fight as fast as we can. The extra hands might help you survive against Jibril. If you do survive, will you consider joining my peerage?"

"I'd prefer if your people don't interfere, if I do nuke Kuoh to kill Jibril, anyone you send will die if they get caught in the blast. There's no need for anyone other than myself to be in the line of fire. As to joining your peerage, I don't have any objections at the moment, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to-"

 **[Colonel, urgent report from Gael. Jibril is on the move, he is in pursuit of both the Sekiryuutei and twilight healing. How shall we respond?]**

"FUCK!"

"I-Issei?"

"No time, Jibril is going after Haruna and Asia personally. This was not part of the plan damnit! I'm going to save them now, you work on evacuating the town. Everything else will have to be put on hold for now. Good luck." Finishing his words, Issei warped away in a shower of blue sparks, leaving two bewildered devils behind.

-line break

30 minutes ago

"Haruna-san, Haruna-san, do you think Ise-san will like this?" Asia asked excitedly while holding up a snow globe she'd bought with the cash she'd saved up. It'd caught her eye while the duo were out shopping and she decided it would make a nice gift for Issei.

"Of course he will, he'll like anything you get him." Haruna answered with a smile, Asia had grown on her despite the fact that they were supposed to be enemies. She was like a sister to her now and obviously sweet on her little brother… even if neither of them realised it yet. Well, she'd help things along, if Issei managed to screw this up, she'd probably kill him herself. She didn't know how she'd deal with the fact that she was a devil if it ever came to light, but she'd cross that bridge when it came to it.

The two had just finished shopping and were taking a break in a small park nearby. Haruna had bought burgers for the both of them and they were busy demolishing their meal. As soon as they were done, Haruna moved to dispose of the trash for both of them.

 **[I told you the girl wasn't a threat. And you didn't believe me.]**

'Oh come on Ddraig, I said I was sorry, didn't I?'

 **[Hmmph, maybe next time you'll think twice before- Shit! How'd they get so close!?]**

'What are you-?' Her question was answered in the form of a muffled gasp from Asia. Turning around, her blood ran cold. Raynare was behind Asia, a violet light spear at her neck.

"Hello again little devil, didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon. Many thanks for delivering the nun, I've been looking all over for her." Raynare finished with a sinister laugh. "Now, don't try anything funny or my hand might slip… and we don't want that do we?"

"De…vil…?" Asia stuttered out the words, unable to comprehend them. She appeared to be more worried about those words than she was the weapon poised to end her life.

"Hmm oh you didn't know? This is just rich, you see Asia, your little friend over there is a devil, an accursed being who tricks humans and steals their souls for their own profit. Forever damned in the eyes of the god you look up to so much, don't you think she deserves to die for lying to you for so long?" On cue, several stray exorcists stepped out from hiding, sinister grins adorning their faces. One by one they drew their weapons and surrounded Haruna.

"NO! Haruna has been very nice to me. Even… even if she's a devil I don't want her to die!" Asia screamed out defiantly and Raynare chuckled at that. "How precious indeed…"

"Let her go you bloody crow." Summoning the boosted gear, Haruna stood her ground as the first of many [Boost!] sounded out. "Or I'll make you."

"You clearly don't remember how our last fight went, I'd give you a reminder but I have a schedule to keep. So for now, I'll have you deal with these exorcists. Come along now Asia, we have no time to waste."

"NOOO! I DON'T WANT TO GO!" Asia started struggling violently in Raynare's grip. "Ow! Hey quit it brat. If you don't stop this I'll-"

Haruna had heard enough, there was no way in hell she'd allow Asia to be kidnapped in front of her without a fight. Dashing to the side, she caught the first stray exorcist by surprise as she reached him far faster than he'd been expecting.

Grabbing the man and pulling him forward, she jammed her knee into a particularly sensitive place with every bit of force her sacred gear and devil powers gave her. Eyes rolling upwards, the man collapsed with a soft groan.

Bracing the body against her shoulder, Haruna used it as a shield from any light bolts the others might try shooting at her. She grimaced when she felt several of them slam into her shield and the smell of charred flesh filled her nose.

Dragging him along as she ran, she received another boost from the Ddraig and the burst of power allowed her to increase her speed yet again. Closing with the next exorcist who couldn't backpedal fast enough, the Sekiryuutei used her shield as a club and knocked him down with it before stomping down hard on… a sensitive area. As she heard something crack, the man curled up into foetal position sobbing.

Five strays remained on their feet, a quick toss of the still comatose shield at one quickly downed their number to four.

Tired of their shots being ineffective against the devil, the remaining exorcists ignited their light swords and rushed in together, trying to overwhelm Haruna with numbers alone.

'Fast. But Kiba's faster." Their numbers were still a problem though, and Haruna did her best to mitigate it by constantly circling around them, never giving them the chance to surround her and putting at least one exorcist between her and the rest.

Her efforts paid off as their number advantage was drastically reduced and she never fought more than two opponents at any one time.

[Boost!]

 **[That's the tenth boost, your body can't handle another. You need to end this now.]**

'What do you think I'm trying to do Ddraig?' Haruna cursed as she narrowly avoided an overhead swing from one of the remaining exorcists, the few strands of hair that floated to the ground testament to how close that had been.

Giving a roar to psych herself up as much as terrify her opponents, she landed a solid punch to the offending stray and sent him flying into a tree. He landed hard enough to crack the mid-sized hardwood and didn't rise again, unconscious from the twin blows.

The brief surge of elation died fast as she realised she'd made a tactical error and had fallen into their trap. The remaining three had been expecting her to incapacitate her opponent one way or another and he'd been sacrificed to lock her down for a few seconds.

Those precious few seconds were all they needed as they completed their encirclement in that time. A desperate blast of demonic power took out one but the remaining two still had her pinned and their blows were inescapable.

However, instead of being neatly divided up into three parts, the laser blades sputtered and fizzled as soon as they came into contact with her. It still left her with a burn that stung something fierce.

Managing to keep her head despite the pain, Haruna successfully escaped their pincer while they were too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with her blades. Biting her lip, she resisted the urge to scream as her wounds screamed in protest at her actions, just because they weren't fatal didn't mean they didn't hurt.

Fatigue was catching up to her and her boosts would wear off soon, the two exorcists were still between her and the struggling Asia.

To her dismay, she was only able to watch as Raynare whispered something into Asia's ears and her struggles stilled. "ASIA NOOO!" Desperately rushing forwards, she was unable to reach her surrogate sister as the two stray exorcists still barred her way and she was too weak to bust through in time to make it.

"Better luck next time girlie~" Raynare spread her wings and carried the unresisting Asia off while Haruna was powerless to do anything but watch.

"GRRRAAAGGHHH!" Fuelled by rage and sorrow, her blows rained down on the two strays who were unable to defend themselves against a berserk devil powered by the boosted gear. Beating the both of them unconscious, Haruna lowered her bloodied shaking fists and sank to the ground in despair. "Sh-she's gone. Asia's gone… and it's all my fault…"

The tears came unbidden and streamed down her cheeks.

 **[Oi! Now's not the time to be wallowing in your own grief. She's not dead yet, there's still time to rescue her. Stand girl, get the rest of your devil friends to help if you must.]**

'R-right, right, I can still set things right. Wait for me Asia, I'm coming for you.' Wiping away her tears, Haruna pushed herself to stand despite the pain and fatigue weighing her down. If she reached Rias in time, she might be able to get help for Asia, at this point that was the only thought keeping her going.

 **[This is bad. Run Haruna! I can sense another fallen angel approaching, this one is beyond your ability to fight! RUN!]**

Ddraig's desperation came across their shared mental link and she immediately spread her wings to fly away, not going to argue any further. Just as well she did really, a light spear struck the ground and completely obliterated it. The shockwave alone knocked her out of the sky, it looked like Raynare's but the colour and power were completely different.

Pulling herself up, she groggily rose to her feet and stared dumbly at the one responsible for the blast. As long as she lived, she'd never be able to forget the face that stared back at her. The face of her killer.

Silver hair flowing gently in the wind, heterochromatic eyes stared down at her as though she was a particularly revolting insect about to be crushed, mouth twisted into a cruel smirk. "You know, when I kill an insect, I expect it to stay dead. Your survival is a mistake I will rectify now."

Jibril had arrived.

 **[Move haruna! Do you want to die!?]**

She was dimly aware of Ddraig shouting something, but she wasn't able to respond at all. The killing intent being released by the fallen angel had paralysed her completely. The suffocating feeling had completely overwhelmed her and she wanted to die if only to be free from it. Fear had consumed her rational mind and she stood stock still as Jibril approached, a new silver light spear in his hands.

"Pitiful creature, rejoice for your suffering will be over momentarily." Jibril approached his motionless target and twirled his spear as he walked, before thrusting it forward in a simple stab to her heart.

Haruna screwed her eyes shut as she waited for the pain. When it never came, she cautiously opened one eye to peek, only for them to both to snap open as she saw a familiar back in front of her. "I-ssei?"

Grunting in exertion, Issei stood between his sister and Jibril, both hands wrapped firmly around the tip of the spear, preventing it from going any further. "Yoooo asshole, you're not hurting my sister today." Twisting his arms, Issei shattered the spear into countless motes of light.

"And another insect shows up, can't you wait your turn boy?" Jibril sneered but otherwise didn't do anything, he was curious as to what the newcomer would try, and aside from a few minutes there wasn't much he'd lose here.

The sight of her brother's burnt hands snapped her out of her trance. "Issei! What are doing here!? Run away, he's too strong."

"Heh, you took the words right out of my mouth nee-san, I can take him, you run. Go help Rias, I'll hold him here." Issei responded without taking his eyes of Jibril for even a second. "This place is going to become a warzone soon, get out of here. Now. You're needed elsewhere."

"Ah family bonds… how touching, it's enough to make me sick. Neither of you are leaving here in one piece." Saying that, Jibril resumed his offensive with a barrage of rapid fire thrusts from a new spear that Issei was hard pressed to block.

"Nee-san, leave! I can't fight him if I need to worry about protecting you." Issei shouted out as he found an opening and counterattacked with an arm blade, cursing when Jibril effortlessly shattered it. "HURRY!"

 **[Haruna, we need to leave now! Your brother can handle himself, we need to go or we'll just be holding him back.]**

"O-okay… don't die Issei." Haruna managed to sputter out before spreading her wings and taking off. Jibril's attempt at shooting her down with a spear was foiled as Issei knocked his arm askew, sending the spear wide.

"You are annoying brat, no matter, the Sekiryuutei will be dead by the end of today. I was planning to dispose of you after her but there's no harm in switching the order." Grinning maliciously, Jibril brought his strength to bear and started pushing Issei back.

Issei winced as the light spear started to melt through his reformed arm blades once more. At the rate he was going, it was just a matter of time before the energy weapon went through his defences and bifurcated him. The furrows his feet were digging into the ground further proved that he was no match for the fallen in a contest of strength.

'Can't say I didn't expect this, but damn does it suck. Sentinel, assault mode now!'

 **[Roger that colonel.]**

Silver amour rapidly forming around him, Issei lashed out with a brutal kick to Jibril's side and grinned in satisfaction as he felt something break under his enhanced strength. When Jibril was distracted by the sudden pain, Issei followed up with a roundhouse kick to his face, sending the fallen flying.

Not sticking around to wait any longer, Issei took to the skies and launched a barrage of missiles at the downed angel. He didn't expect the attack to do any damage to the crow since it didn't work the first time he tried it but he was hoping the blasts would work as improvised flash bangs and prevent Jibril from blasting him out of the sky.

Issei smirked as the light spears he received in return were nowhere close to hitting him. pushing his boosters to the maximum, Issei jetted off in the direction of the destroyed church, leaving a visible contrail for Jibril to follow.

"How very annoying." Jibril stated in a disdainful manner as he flared his aura to clear the smoke before taking off in pursuit of Issei.

Upon arriving at the scene of the destroyed church, Issei was nowhere to be found. Mismatched eyes continued to scan the area but found nothing, annoyance building, he was considering nuking everything below him to flush out his prey.

Before he could make good on that however, a massive force collided with the back of his head sending him spiralling to the ground. As he fell, he noticed a blue trail of plasma in the sky behind him.

As he pulled himself from where he fell, Jibril cursed as Issei was still nowhere to be found. Somehow the brat had found a way to mask the energy signature of his railgun and he was unable to exploit it like Cypher had suggested. Jibril gave thanks that he had the foresight to set up a barrier around himself before leaving the base in the event one of the maou actually showed up. That barrier should have lasted for quite a while even against Sirzechs power of destruction and it had been completely destroyed by one hit. A small tinge of fear ran through him at that realisation.

The brat was a lot more dangerous than he'd been expecting, perhaps Cypher was on to something when he was warned not to take the silver wing lightly.

A cold chill ran down his spine warning him of imminent death, he hastily weaved whatever was left of his shattered barrier into a single reinforced point guarding his back. Once more, he was knocked onto his face by a titanic force and a roar that seemed to shake the earth itself. His barrier was completely shattered now but he was alive and that was all that mattered.

Rising to his feet again, he spun around and looked Issei dead in the eye, the boy was kneeling on a hill top not far away from where he stood, gun barrel still smoking but otherwise motionless.

'You have got to be shitting me… I put enough juice in those rounds to send them straight through a mountain range… HOW THE FUCK IS HE STILL ALIVE!'

 **[Sensors indicate he protected himself with a force field. Colonel, energy reserves are drained, optical camouflage and flight capabilities are offline, recharge in 1 min. Ballistic and melee weapons system still functional. The Mistilteinn modifications will last for one more shot.]**

'Not helping Sentinel.' Detaching and dropping the spent railgun, Issei hastily formed two arm blades and just barely managed to block Jibril's furious counterattack. Placing his hands in an 'X', he held off the blows as Jibril sought to pound him into the ground.

"You grow tiresome insect, I will admit I was not expecting you to be able to shoot me twice with your accursed weapon, but this farce is over!" Finally breaking through Issei's guard, Jibril struck the boy with a vicious backhand, sending Issei through a line of trees and shattering his helm.

Spitting out blood, Issei cursed and staggered to his feet, facing the ten-winged fallen angel, he gave a death grin and slid back into a fighting stance. "Sorry, I have no intention of letting you win today. I wasn't expecting you to come out so early but that's fine I made it in time after all-"

Issei's words were cut off by a brutal punch to his stomach followed by one to the back of his head as he was doubled over and then a kick that sent him airborne once more.

"Made it in time? Foolish boy, you only made it in time for your death. Before I kill you, tell me this, do you ever get tired of failing?"

"What?" Issei spat out the word in between coughs of blood.

"You're always too late when it matters most. You couldn't save the 17th, you couldn't save your sister… and once more you're too late to save that nun you took in. And of course, you failed to kill me. Don't worry though, I'll be sending you to join the nun in the afterlife soon."

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about."

Sinister smile on his face, Jibril couldn't resist gloating about his success to his downed opponent. "You see brat, one of my soldiers already retrieved the nun before you ever showed up. By now her sacred gear would have been extracted and she would have died screaming in agony. My only regret is that I wasn't there to see it in person."

"FUCK YOU!" Issei's insolence was met with a boot to the face. As he struggled to rise again, he continued coughing blood and spat out a tooth as well.

"Such a sacred gear is wasted on a weakling such as her, not to worry though, I'll put it to far better use. Those rings are on the way here by now and my immortal army will be completed soon."

"You… you think I'll let you get away with this?" In a swift motion, Issei withdrew a light sword he stole from the very first group of stray exorcists he encountered and stabbed upwards.

Jibril had not been expecting that and it scored a long line along his face when he failed to dodge completely. As he instinctively reached up to grab the wound, Issei hurled a handful of sand into his eyes. Blinded and in pain, Jibril was subjected to an enraged beating by Issei.

Uppercut, straight jab, left hook, shotgun to the face… Issei unleashed a punishing series of blows on his disoriented opponent before finishing off by shoving a live grenade into Jibril's mouth and kicking him away as it exploded.

"How ya like that assho- gurkk!" A very pissed off Jibril closed the distance between them and wrapped his fingers around Issei's neck, lifting him up while choking him. "That. Is quite enough boy. I grow tired of this game."

Spawning a light spear, Jibril impaled Issei and nailed him to a tree, pausing to brush off the dirt while Issei struggled futilely to remove the spear. "You have been a thorn in Cypher's side for too long, time to die insect."

Summoning a new light spear, he jabbed it into Issei's face, only for the boy to burst into sparks. Growling in frustration, he started looking around for his prey once more, the boy was still here somewhere he could feel it.

Issei knelt and did his best to get his breathing under control. 'That was way too close. Looks like I was right after all.' Readying the Mistilteinn for its last shot, a completely healed Issei synced his vision with the gun's targeting systems and took aim at the crow foolish enough to stand still.

'Jamming my bond with Sentinel to cut off my healing is ingenious I'll admit, but you can't jam what isn't there now can you? Converting myself back to human is going to hurt like hell later but damn if it wasn't worth it.'

 **[Colonel, target is locked. Gestalt sync is holding at 34%, estimated operational time left 15 min.]**

'Got it, let's take the bastard down.' Issei replied and took a deep breath before squeezing the trigger. Once more the gun discharged in a burst of thunder and lightning as a blue streak collided with Jibril before he could react.

Having reached its limit, the hastily modified railgun cracked under the strain and the metal warped to the point it was no longer useable. Sadly, the modifications to it had been made of Silverite given to him by Motohama in the past, Sentinel was incapable of absorbing it and thus had no way to repair the weapon.

Issei sighed as he discarded it, he was sad to see the original reduced to scrap like that but it served its purpose. Jibril was down… but clearly not out.

A demented roar came from the blast crater as Jibril rose to his feet and staggered out of the smoke. "You cannot be serious… what does it take to kill this guy!?"

Jibril was badly wounded, the five wings on his right side along with that arm had completely vanished. Half his face had also been burnt off and Issei could see the bone beneath it and the eye itself was missing. To Issei's horror, the monster's wounds were healing rapidly. The destroyed organs weren't growing back, but any damage to the rest of the body was fading away, thin wisps of white smoke rose lazily from the disappearing wounds.

"To be damaged badly enough to need a phoenix tear by a mere child, I am disgraced. But you… you will pay dearly for that." His garbled voice reached Issei as Jibril raised his remaining hand, summoning thousands upon thousands of light spears. If it were night, it would have been enough to turn it into day.

"This… is gonna suck. Sentinel, maximum speed!" Issei ignited his boosters and launched into the sky breaking the sound barrier as he did so. Weaving through the air in a complex pattern, Issei evaded the entire barrage as best he could, intercepting spears with discarded metal bits wherever he couldn't.

Once Issei dodged the last spear, he breathed a sigh of relief before his blood ran cold as the spears came back around and started chasing him again. "Oh come on, this is ridiculous." He cussed as he resumed his frantic escape, in spite of the sheer number of spears, he could tell that each one packed more power than the standard spears Jibril had been swinging around all day.

That point was proved when a few of the spears lost their tracking and smashed into the ground, detonating with immense force and leaving a crater similar to the one formed by his railgun.

Issei winced when he saw more than a few of the homing WMDs land in the town proper and levelled everything in their surroundings. He prayed the devils had successfully evacuated the residents, if they hadn't… he didn't want to entertain that possibility.

'Sentinel any ideas? At this rate, Kuoh is going to resemble Stalingrad at the end of world war two.'

 **[Recommendation, continue to ascend and engage optical camouflage, the spears might lose weapons lock.]**

'No harm in trying.' Issei followed Sentinel's advice and boosted even higher into the sky, fading from view as he did and then coming to a stop. To his glee, the spears continued past him and just kept going.

His smile faded however as Jibril's voice intruded in his head. "You think yourself smart boy? No matter, if I cannot destroy you, I can still destroy the town and everyone in it. Your sister will die and victory is still mine." On cue, the mass of light spears halted their upwards flight and began dropping back down to bombard Kuoh.

'Damn him! Sentinel, deactivate assault mode safety limiters.' Issei commanded as he fell back to earth, just barely keeping ahead of the spears.

 **[Colonel, that is unwise. The surge of information will damage your nerves.]**

'I don't care! Just do it!'

 **[Understood colonel. Limiters released.]**

Issei's armoured form reappeared and the metal began glowing red, the seams emitting gold light and countless gun turrets began forming out of the amour. His body shook inside the metal as a large surge of information from every weapon and armour sensor rushed into him all at once. Even with Sentinel filtering the information as best he could, it was still a large burden and Issei's nose began to bleed from the strain.

Roaring in defiance, Issei opened up with a barrage of his own, firing every gun he could summon simultaneously and shooting down as many of the spears he could before they could annihilate his home town. The sky lit up with explosions as the two strange competitors raced towards the ground.

Despite his best effort, more than a few of the spears still breached his barrage and landed on Kuoh, causing massive devastation when they landed.

But once it ended, a strange calm prevailed over the destroyed landscape. Issei landed on top of a building and surveyed the area with a dead expression. The arcade, where he'd taken Asia to had disappeared, the school had been blown up again, and countless other sectors of Kuoh had been reduced to rubble… and his house was just a crater now.

It was a terrible blow to Issei to see his home looking like this, but he took comfort in the silence that pervaded everything. He took it as a sign that the devils had successfully evacuated everyone. Kuoh was damaged but it was still standing, given time it would heal.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, Issei shuddered as the exhaustion caught up with him, the limiter had been reengaged by Sentinel, but some damage had been done and he felt numb all over.

"Are we done?"

"Not by a long shot brat."

Issei's eyes widened as he was kicked from his perch and sent crashing to the ground far below.

Groaning as he rose to his feet, Issei stared upwards to see Jibril approaching.

"You should have just run away boy, heroes die fast. And look, my subordinate is here with your precious nun's sacred gear. You've failed." Jibril turned to the side as Raynare approached, a small bag clutched in hand

"Lord Jibril, here are the rings you asked for. The nun has been taken care of." Saying so, Raynare retrieved two silver rings and placed them on Jibril's outstretched hand. "Excellent work Raynare, you have done well. Do you see boy? At the end, all your efforts were for nothing. With twilight healing, I'll be able to heal even the wounds you inflicted."

Issei snarled and glared hatefully as Jibril put on the rings, before bowing his head. "The power is mine! You lose… any last words?" A green glow surrounded Jibril's hands as he summoned one last spear for a coup de grace.

Unbeknownst to the cadre class fallen, Issei was smirking while his head was bowed. "Lose? I don't think so." Before Jibril could question what the boy meant, an incredible surge of pain ran up his arm and the spear destabilised.

Jibril fell to his knees hugging his arm to his stomach as he screamed, dimly he was aware of Raynare exchanging words with Issei before flying off. He couldn't comprehend what was happening, the twilight healing wasn't working for some reason and when he directed his sole good eye to his hand, he was horrified to see the rings gone. They'd melted into the same silver metal that comprised Sentinel's being.

Issei directed a tired smile at his crippled opponent and struggled to his feet again. "I do believe this is checkmate Jibril."

"Ho-How!?"

"I'm not nearly stupid enough to believe I can beat you in a fight even with the railgun, hahahha… so I cheated."

 **[Colonel, gestalt sync is at 1%. Destabilisation imminent.]**

'Just hold it for a few seconds more sentinel.' Issei staggered over to his opponent, summoning the silver dagger he'd been working on earlier. "This one's for Haruna." Gasping out the words, Issei stabbed Jibril in the heart with it before collapsing unconscious.

Pain consumed Jibril as he felt the dagger slip through his defences and embed in him before shattering. There was no mistaking the holy aura in that weapon, he could feel it eating through his system, only the phoenix tears kept him from disintegrating on the spot, but its effects were running out. The wound was fatal.

Jibril still didn't know how Issei had managed to pull a fast one on him and he was beyond caring, all he knew was that he was dying and his killer lay at his feet still breathing. One way or another, he swore he'd take the boy to the afterlife with him.

As he reached for Issei with his half-melted arm, Jibril choked up blood as a crimson blade sprouted from his chest. "The Chikage? H-how!?"

"Didn't you hear bastard? It's already checkmate."

"Dohnaseek… TRAITOR!" Jibril spat out the words with his dying breaths as he cast a baleful glare at the trench coat and fedora wearing fallen approaching from behind. Dohnaseek for his part merely shrugged his shoulders and twisted the katana he'd stabbed into the shadows, causing Jibril to cough up even more blood as the blade in his wound twisted with it.

"You can't betray someone you're enslaved to, it's over Jibril, I would have waited an eternity for this." Ripping out the blade as he finished speaking, Dohnaseek allowed his former commander to fall before making his way over to Issei's fallen form.

"I can't believe that plan actually worked. Come on boss, let's get out of here." Slinging Issei over his shoulder, he cast one last hate-filled glare at Jibril before unfolding his one good wing and flying off.

"DOHNASEEEEKK!" Jibril roared at the retreating form one last time before darkness claimed his vision and his body disintegrated, leaving only dust to mark his passing.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 8** : Aftermath

"Nnnghh…" Issei groaned as he sat up, a severe migraine afflicted him and the rest of his body wasn't that much better off either. "Graghh… did anyone catch the number plate on the bus that ran me over?"

"ISE-SAN!" The next thing Issei registered was a small body colliding with his and two small arms wrapping around him in a bear hug. "Ow, ow, ow, ow. Heh, it's good to see you too Asia."

Ignoring his aches, Issei smiled softly and patted her head with one hand as the nun burst into tears. "There, there, I'm not going anywhere."

'Sentinel, how long have I been out?'

 **[You've been asleep for two days colonel. Dohnaseek brought you to Asia for healing and she has been at your side for most of that time. Kuoh town has been rebuilt by the devils in the time you were asleep and they are still searching for you. All enemy combatants have been subdued and deported.]**

'I see… damn I am not looking forward to explaining everything.'

"Oh you're up. Hey, you got anything else to eat in here? The fridge is kind of empty now."

"Empty? I stocked it with enough food to last a week- eh, what the hell are you doing here anyway Raynare? Shouldn't you and Dohnaseek have gone back to Grigori by now?" Issei stared at the fallen in confusion. "Ahahahah, you're funny boss, we live here now."

"…Excuse me?"

"Ah well… whatever the reason for us working for Jibril, it doesn't change the fact that he was a traitor and by extension that means we're persona non grata with the rest of the Grigori at the moment. Kalawaner and Mittelt are pleading our case at the moment but until that settles we'll be staying here."

"…So you're freeloading." Issei deadpanned at Raynare who scratched her cheeks sheepishly. "Ah… freeloading is such a strong word, besides, don't you think you should take responsibility for your actions? Because of you, we're out of a job and our old friends want to put a spear in our backs."

"…I saved your friends and freed you from Jibril's control. Are you seriously guilt tripping me?"

"Doesn't change the fact that you left us jobless and since you destroyed the church, homeless as well." Raynare wrung her hands and leant against the doorway. "I could just kick you out."

"Ah! Ise-san please don't! Raynare has been very nice, please don't kick her out." Faced with Asia's teary eyed pleading, Issei's resolve crumbled in an instant. "Alright, fine! You can stay. Don't make me regret this."

"You got it boss!" Raynare saluted Issei and stuck out her tongue after his greenlight. "Oh, and one more thing boss, Dohnaseek and I will be expecting our pay checks soon, don't be late or we'll go on strike."

"Pay checks!?" Issei stared blankly at the crow, wondering for a brief moment if he'd be able to get away with murder, before sighing and collapsing back onto the bed. "Leave. Before I lose my temper."

"Pay check?"

"…If you want pay, you will be working to earn it… and if you empty my fridge again, it will be coming out of your pocket. Now get out so I can cry in peace."

"You got it boss." With one more salute, Raynare sauntered out of the room.

"I-Ise-san, is everything alright?"

"Yes Asia, everything's fine, I'm just tired. Anyway, I've been sleeping for a day right, what did I miss." Lifting one hand to continue patting her head, Issei asked with his eyes closed.

"Umm… I've called Haruna-san to tell her that we're alright… umm… there was someone named Gael looking for me but Raynare and Dohnaseek didn't let him through… umm…"

"Ah that's right, I forgot about Gael… I'm going to have to apologise later. That's fine now Asia, I know you've been watching over me while I was asleep, thank you for that." Issei said as he smiled at Asia who returned a bright smile of her own. "It's nothing Ise-san, you are my first friend after all. Oh! I have something for you."

Asia reached into a small bag by her side before pulling out the snow globe she'd bought what seemed like a lifetime ago. "Here! Raynare helped me save it, I bought it for you to thank you for everything." Presenting the gift to the most important person in her life, happiness filled her heart when Issei accepted the gift and whispered his thanks.

"You didn't have to you know. Just being your friend is enough for me." Issei spoke truthfully at that, it warmed his heart greatly that someone like her would buy anything for a sinner like him. Perhaps, he was falling for her, he didn't know yet, but he did know that Asia was probably the one girl in existence that he harboured no perverted feelings towards. He just wanted to protect her smile.

Shaking her head, she disavowed him of that notion. "No it isn't Ise-san, you're the first friend I ever made, that's why I… that's why I…" As she lapsed into silence, Issei turned to look at her, slightly worried when he saw the look of melancholy on her face.

"Asia?"

"Ne, Issei-san… can I tell you a story?" Once Issei nodded, Asia began to pour out her life story. Abandoned as a baby on the footsteps of a church, she had been raised with all the other orphans but had a difficult time making friends. When she was still a child, her sacred gear had manifested and she was taken away from the rest and venerated as a holy maiden.

She spent her days healing those the church sent to her and was isolated from near everyone else. Taking it as a gift from god and her destiny in life, she accepted it wholeheartedly and found happiness in seeing joy from those she saved.

But then disaster struck. A few months before she met Issei, she healed a wounded man who turned out to be a devil that went on a killed a priest. The church cursed her as a witch after that, expelling her from the only home she ever knew and everyone who'd previously looked up to her turned their backs in disgust, leaving her all alone.

In her darkest hour, a fallen angel by the name of Jibril had come up to her and offered her safe haven, all she needed to do was make her way to Kuoh, the preparations had already been made. Upon arriving, she was a stranger in a strange land and hopelessly lost, and there she met Issei, the single light in the darkness her world had become.

By the end of the story, she was sobbing and Issei was hugging her close to comfort her. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Asia managed to get her emotions under control.

"You must think I'm a bad person don't you Ise-san. I healed a devil… and I was working for the person who killed Haruna-san and did this to you… ow!" Asia reached up and rubbed her head where Issei had chopped her. "Don't ever think that again Asia, I don't hate you, nor does Haruna. You had nothing to do with what Jibril did, never forget that."

"Bu-but I lied! I didn't say anything. I was-" she was cut off by Issei shaking his head. "To tell you the truth Asia, I already knew about all of that. Jibril was a problem long before you showed up and I already heard about your past from Gael. I didn't want to say anything since you didn't want to talk about it."

"Y-you knew?"

"I did. And I'm still your friend am I not?"

"B-but I'm a witch."

"Are you? You're about as far from being a witch as I am from being normal. I do have questions about your banishment by the way, too many things don't add up about it. For instance, if you really were cast out by the church, I want to know why one of the higher ups detailed half the elite hunter division to find and protect you."

"T-they did?"

"Ummhmm, let's go meet Gael now shall we? He's probably been waiting to speak to you for quite a while now." Issei said as he slipped out of bed, other than the aches and pains that plagued him, he was fine. Smiling, he grasped Asia's hand and led her out the door.

-line break

"Ah Lady Asia, it is good to see you again. I hope you're in good health."

"Umm… hello…"

"You don't remember me, that is fine, you've probably healed so many over the years that you can't remember them all anymore." Gael said good naturedly.

"Um… I healed you before?" Asia couldn't help but ask, she had helped so many over the years, most of their faces simply blurred together. Now that she thought about it, she never had the chance to meet anyone she ever healed before unless they were there to be healed again.

"Yes you did, you helped quite a lot of us out actually. Most of my men wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you and for that we are eternally grateful."

"I-I see. I'm glad that I was able to help. Umm… why did you come to save me?"

Gael shrugged at Asia's question. "Two reasons, one we wanted to pay you back for what you did for us. Then, there was the small matter of his eminence Vasco Strada requesting us to locate and keep you safe after you disappeared from the church."

"But, but I was excommunicated, wasn't I?" Asia failed to comprehend Gael's words. She didn't know why someone so high up in the church hierarchy would care about a lowly nun like her.

Gael's face wrinkled in distaste at the mention of Asia's banishment. "Yes… your banishment. On behalf of the church, I apologise for that Lady Asia. Your banishment was the work of… overzealous men and do not reflect the views of the majority. Unfortunately, the decision cannot be reversed without destroying the church's credibility… I apologise once more, but there is nothing we can do. His eminence had tasked us with taking you to him once you were found, he would have made arrangements for you to live in peace, away from those… hypocrites. Will you come with us?"

"I don't want to. I wish to stay here… with Ise-san." Asia hid behind Ise while grabbing onto his jacket, afraid the Gael would simply decide to grab her and whisk her off to where she'd never see her friends again.

An odd sense of warmth blossomed in Issei's chest as he heard Asia's words. "I do believe she's made her choice, what will you do now Gael?"

"Now, I'll have my men report back to his eminence. As for myself, I'll be sticking around to make sure the lady is safe. This is a nice base you got here and since the church is gone, I think I'll be moving in."

Issei's eyebrow started twitching at Gael's carefree words. "The church again? I am never going to live that down, am I? And I suppose you expect to freeload here as well?"

"Well…" Issei's twitching intensified as Gael trailed off while scratching the back of his head.

"Same deal as the crows, you want to live here I expect you to earn your keep. You try to eat me out of house and home and I'm booting you out. If you pick a fight with the crows and destroy my base, it _will_ cost you an arm and a leg. We clear on that?"

"Crystal. Now if you'll excuse me silver wing, I need to get some booze for the housewarming party. Have a nice day Asia, it was nice seeing you again. If you ever need anything or this chump gives you any problems, feel free to come find me, I'll sort him out good."

"You wish. And aren't you supposed to be a priest? Since when do you get to indulge in alcohol?"

"I'm only a priest in name boyo. The military wing get more leeway with the stuff and I don't intend to change. Besides, I am a bloodhound now, it takes a lot to get me drunk so it's all good. What's the point of living if you don't live a little."

"Whatever floats your boat, just don't come crying when you face eternal damnation." Issei deadpanned at Gael's less than strict view on a proper lifestyle. All he received was a laugh and a wave as Gael made for the nearest liquor store.

"Ise-san… is he really from the church?" Asia asked as Gael resembled none of the priests she knew growing up. "Yes… most unfortunately he is."

-line break

A calm Issei and a nervous Asia sat side by side opposite Rias and Sona while a worried Haruna stood in the back watching the proceedings. Issei had already detailed his version of the events to the two devils and was now awaiting their response.

"Mr Hyoudou, I find it hard to believe that you are telling the truth. I won't deny that you fought against a very powerful fallen angel who was allegedly the shadow, but I fail to comprehend how you were able to subvert two of his subordinates and have members of the church work alongside them... if they were there at all." Sona made her doubt clear.

"What's hard to believe? Jibril held sway over them only because of fear and the fact that he had their friends as hostages. I gave them an out, work for me and their friends will be rescued and Jibril will be too dead to do anything about it. As to not believing that I did have access to soldiers from the church… have you tried looking up?"

As one, Sona and Rias craned their necks upwards and were met with the peculiar sight of a werewolf wearing a crucifix seated on the ceiling. "This is Gael, commander of the bloodhounds, the church's elite hunters. Gael, meet the devils in charge of Kuoh."

" **Pleasure to meet you all. I don't intend to cause any trouble here but just so we're clear, either of you try anything against Issei or Asia and you will have me to contend with."** Gael barred his fangs upon finishing his words, revealing twin rows of very large and very, very sharp teeth.

Credit where credit was due, Sona and Rias recovered fast without any blasts of demonic power flying. "I-I see, my apologies for doubting you. There is one thing I'm curious about, when did you have time to set everything up?"

"I'd been planning it for about a week now, I was convinced that Jibril might be too much for me to overcome. I made plans for that eventuality, even if I lost, Jibril would be shut down. Shortly before I destroyed the abandoned church, one of Jibril's goons jumped me with a bunch of stray exorcists. I eliminated the exorcists and captured the fallen for interrogation. A few days later, I got my hands on one of the higher-ranking exorcists and interrogated him as well. Jibril was too much of an unknown so I made the captive fallen an offer he could not refuse."

"Yes… you offered this… Dohnaseek his freedom and a shot at revenge _and_ gave him a cursed sword known as the Chikage… after you crippled him by removing his wing. Did you not consider that he might have betrayed you?" Sona pushed up her glasses as she asked.

"You familiar with the saying the enemy of my enemy? He hated my guts, probably still does, but he hated Jibril more, I could see it in his eyes. I gave him a legitimate chance at vengeance at zero risk to himself, why wouldn't he have taken it? The plan was simple, I engage Jibril in a fight, if I win that's that. If I lose but manage to make him vulnerable, he gets to stab his boss in the back to finish him off. If I lose and fail to make him vulnerable, he hides and shows up after the battle, claiming to have stolen my sword and presenting it to Jibril would put him in his good graces. He wins no matter what, who wouldn't accept the offer? It's not like he gains anything stabbing me in the back early."

"And how did you cripple your opponent anyway. I fail to understand how a pair of modified rings can bring down someone that strong." Sona resumed her questioning while Rias sat quietly, continuing to evaluate the boy.

"The rings themselves are perfectly normal, Koneko can attest to that when she granted my wish, I merely added a little parasite to it. it was child's play passing it to Raynare on my way home after modifying the rings, pros of moving in a crowded area, most people don't pay attention to who I bump into. The parasite itself is a secret that I don't intend to share at the moment. Suffice to say it works by entering the body and consuming everything inside once the infection has set in. I'm told it hurts a lot but I have no way of proving or disproving those claims." Issei shrugged as he answered truthfully while hiding the rest of Sentinel's origins. For now, it was best if the devils believed Sentinel to be a parasite he chanced upon in his past rather than an extra-terrestrial threat.

"Alright, so to sum up. You've been aware of the fallen's presence for slightly over a week. Unsure of your ability to beat him in a fight, you came up with several countermeasures that ended with his assassination by one of his own. And on the side, you had the members of the church rescue two captive fallen and extract your spy and the nun. Despite all that, you are not part of any supernatural faction despite having had contact with every member of the biblical ones and a member of the Kyoto Yokai. Presumably, you are a part of your own faction that has to deal with… 'lots of bullshit' in your words and they have no contact with the supernatural as well aside from a past conflict with the church, the other members are in Kuoh but you refuse to divulge their identities and all of you intend to keep the peace here. Did I get everything?"

Sona sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose when Issei nodded. "Why can't anything ever be simple? I cannot believe I am saying this but I liked it better when you were just a simple pervert. Rias, can you handle the rest? I want to go write my report now before I go crazy listening to him."

Rias nodded and Sona sighed once more before leaving the ORC club room. As she left, the remaining inhabitants lapsed into silence, each side waiting for the other to say something.

"This is going to be problematic in the long run, with your faction emerging after the death of one of the Grigori leaders." Rias was the first to break the silence. Folding her hands, she stared at Issei with a guarded expression. "I don't know how the Grigori will react but I can guess at what the church and the devils will do. Since you already have contacts with the church…" At this she nodded towards Gael, "I believe they're already aware of you and won't make too much of a fuss. For us devils, the Yondaimaou might wish to meet you to ascertain your intentions in person, and other high-class devils might come in search of you to recruit you."

"Like you are trying to do."

Rias shrugged at Issei's statement, not bothering to deny it. "I won't lie and say I'm not interested. Someone like you will be a boon to any peerage you join, your strength is already proven. As a devil and a person, I am interested in adding your strength to my own since your power will make dealing with my problems easier. But… there is the matter of your personality. If I were to add you to my peerage, I'd need you to take orders from me, somehow I don't see that happening."

"If I do join you, I will follow orders within reason, despite everything I've done, I have lines I won't cross. If you ask me to cross them for any reason at all, we're gonna have a problem."

"Hoh? Interesting… I take it you aren't opposed to joining me?"

"Nope. Feel free to convince me to join if you're still interested. My conditions are simple. One, you never ask me to hurt the innocent. Two, the fallen and Gael they work for me now, they are my men and their lives matter to me, the only orders they follow will be mine and you will not ask me to sacrifice or betray them. This applies to anyone else I pick up, naturally I will ensure that they don't come into conflict with everyone else. Three, you never hurt anyone I care for, I've already made it clear what happens to those who try, Raynare is the sole exception because of the deal we cut. Lastly, I am aware that you are all devils and have to do some unsavoury things from time to time, I cannot stop you if you choose to do so, but if you do, make sure I never catch you. Cause when I do, nothing will save you from me, especially if you hurt a child."

A heavy silence hung over the room as Issei delivered his terms with deadly seriousness. Asia and Haruna fidgeted nervously at Issei's aura, it wasn't something they were used to. Gael on the other hand, knew exactly why Issei was acting like this and felt a pang of sympathy for the boy, he'd been through far too much already.

Rias to her credit, took the full brunt of Issei's attention without flinching. Drinking a sip of tea, she closed her eyes and mulled over Issei's terms, there was a story there somewhere but it wasn't prudent to pry into it at the moment. Coming to a decision, she placed her cup of tea back on the table and looked the boy, no the soldier across from her dead in the eye.

"I am fine with those conditions. There may be devils out there willing to do all that, but I am not one of them, I swear to you on my honour as Rias Gremory. Your… men are yours to command as long as they do not conflict with the rest of devil society without _very_ good reason. As a Gremory myself, I understand exactly how much the people we care for matters to us and I will never knowingly hurt them. I hate those who abuse the innocent as much as you do Issei, and I would never hurt a child. If you do join me, you gain a vastly improved lifespan and power plus the ability to grow beyond human limits. Perhaps one day you'll be able to beat someone like Jibril without needing to resort to tricks. There are a few other benefits as well as conditions, but I can get you a contract to read later. Are you amendable to these terms?"

"As long as you don't try to slip in any fine print." Issei reduced the pressure he was subconsciously putting out as Rias agreed to his conditions. Rias nodded and pulled out her remaining chess pieces, a single pawn, knight, rook and bishop piece.

Holding each up to the light, Rias sent a small surge of power into them watching as each glowed in return. "…Well this is unexpected."

"How so?"

"I was worried that I wouldn't have enough pieces to reincarnate someone of your strength actually. In that event I would have requested that you not join any other peerage in the meantime until I get strong enough to use the rook piece on you."

"What changed."

"According to the pieces, you're weak enough that I only need one normal pawn to do so. I don't understand it."

Issei blinked at Rias analysis. "Are you seriously complaining it won't take much to recruit me? You can save the rook for someone else then. If you're questioning my strength, try to recall that I'm only human. I may have a strange partner but my strength comes from technology, not magic. The way I understand it, your pieces only react to the 'magical' strength of a person. After all, give anyone a gun and they become a far larger threat without any change to their actual abilities. I just took it to the logical extreme."

Thinking about it for a moment, Rias accepted his words, it did make sense according to what she knew, despite the irregularities, Issei's sacred gear was still just a twice critical. "Fair enough I suppose… now what about you Asia, are you willing to join my peerage as well?"

Issei frowned and was about to interject on her behalf when Asia spoke up. "If Ise-san joins, I will join too, this way I can be by Ise-san's side. I-I can't go back to the church and even though I still believe in god, I don't think it's wrong of me to follow Ise-san" She said with conviction.

Warmth blossomed in his chest once more as he heard those words, pushing the strange feeling aside for the moment, Issei redirected his attention to Rias. He wouldn't question Asia's decision but he would still do everything he could to protect her.

"If she's willing I don't mind her joining. Of course, that will be once you present your contract so I can look it over. Needless to say, I will be looking out for her. My earlier terms still stand Rias, as long as you abide by them I will follow. If you try to use my loved ones against me though, I don't mind becoming a stray and making an enemy of the whole world to deal with you."

"Noted, and it won't come to that. If it ever does, I'll most likely already be dead. My peerage is family and I'd sooner die than betray them."

"Good, I believe that concludes our business here then."

As Issei stood to leave, Haruna had enough of standing silently by and rushed him immediately, bombarding him and Asia with all sorts of questions. Issei sighed as he struggled to answer them one at a time before being overwhelmed. Having a caring sibling was nice but sometimes, it could be just so annoying.

-line break

2 days later

The newly minted pawn of the Gremory group stood on the roof of the school looking out over the town as a cool night breeze blew by. Dohnaseek stood respectfully several paces behind him.

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't bother to finish me off after I lost against Jibril. I didn't have anything on you and that was your one shot at revenge. I killed your men, destroyed one of your wings and imprisoned you, even if you hadn't done anything, just leaving me there would have killed me. So, why didn't you?"

Dohnaseek was silent for a moment as he contemplated the question before shrugging. "Who knows, perhaps it's because you're the one person who's been straight with me in a very long time. I am sick and tired of being lied to endlessly. Losing my wing was-is painful, but a small price to pay for the chance to take Jibril down, as for the exorcists you killed, I couldn't care less, they were scum and would have been killed anyway."

"Is that so. And why didn't you return to the Grigori, you took down a rouge cadre class fallen before he could do any damage, wouldn't you be seen as a hero?"

Issei was startled to hear Dohnaseek's self-deprecating laughter. "You don't really know how the Grigori, no how the biblical factions work do you? The leaders of each faction are concerned with maintaining the status quo, they wouldn't concern themselves with the actions of one of their own rouges especially if he's high up in the hierarchy as long as his actions don't threaten all-out war. Why do you think Jibril was free to do as he pleased for so long despite the higher ups obviously knowing about it. it's simple, for all his despicableness, Jibril still has fervent supporters among the Grigori for his willingness to stick it to the rest consequences be damned. If any of the rest move against him it will be civil war and the higher ups will just quietly sweep away everything to avoid entertaining that possibility."

"So any rouge with sufficient backing pretty much has carte blanche to do as he pleases to anyone as long as the matter doesn't blow up huh? I suppose if it does explode, the other leaders will just have him quietly erased?" Issei frowned as this was oddly reminiscent of his conflict against the Choir a year ago.

"That about sums it up. And because of my actions, if I do return, I will be executed for betraying my superior and Jibril's sins will be laid at my feet. This way the Grigori saves face, it doesn't help that Jibril has taken pains to cover his tracks so well and other than us, no one else has proof that he was ever here to create havoc."

"They would discard the lives of their men so easily?"

"If it meant maintaining the status quo and their image, yes, yes they would. The three factions are in an uproar now, Jibril was killed by an unaffiliated unknown in devil territory and church agents were involved somehow and I have no mood to be a part of their hypocrisy any further, I may be fallen but at least I never strayed from my own ideals for a lie." Dohnaseek spat out the words in disgust. "I do believe I already told you I was going for a job interview, didn't I? How did I do?"

"Yes… when you were masquerading as that beggar and I passed you the Chikage, I can't just leave you out to die so I guess you got the job. I will expect you to train and grow stronger, future enemies are only going to get tougher and tougher, I have no intention of attending your funeral."

"As you wish boss, hmmph, the Gremory devil is on her way up, I'll take my leave first." Spreading his one good wing, Dohnaseek took off into the night, rapidly becoming a shadow against the moon. Issei continued staring into space as he awaited Rias's arrival.

"Hello buchou, nice night, isn't it?"

"I'm surprised to find you here, I thought you'd have gone with Asia on her first job, to watch over her if nothing else."

"I left a marker with her, anything happens and I'll be there in a flash."

"That's good then… you know, there was one thing that didn't add up in your story. You told me you fought Jibril in the past, when exactly did that happen?"

"It didn't, more exactly that event was erased from history."

"…Excuse me?"

"I died in that fight. Instead of going on to whatever afterlife awaits me, I met my shishou. He found a way to send my mind back to the past, before my foolish decision to fight an unwinnable battle before preparations were complete."

"That is impossible. Time travel is just a myth, no one has been able to accomplish that yet."

"Keyword being 'yet', it is my understanding that it was a future version of my shishou who sent me back and who knows what the future holds. Before you ask buchou, I don't know who he is. He showed up before me one day when I went insane as a result of my power and beat the sense back into me, I know that he is powerful and wise, beyond that not much I guess."

"…I see… one last question then, what made you this way?"

"…Umm buchou, haven't I already explained this?"

"I don't mean how you obtained your power. I was asking how your personality became this way. I did check with Haruna, you've been a pervert for a very long time now, your powers only manifested two years ago, and at heart you're still a pervert. I did catch you ogling us after all."

"Hey, I am a healthy male, it is to be expected, isn't it?"

"It is a part of your core I can see that, to be frank, I expected you to be driven by your emotions. Yet you're immune to even Akeno's… mannerisms. Then of course there's your willingness to go to any lengths to protect your people. How did you get this way? Power alone will not warp you so."

Issei remained silent as Rias's question hit a little too close to home for his liking.

"Issei?" Hearing Rias calling him, he sighed as he decided to open up a tiny amount, he did owe it to his new comrade after all. "Well, you're not wrong about all that. Indeed, once I regained my sanity thanks to shishou, I was still the same as I'd always been at heart, a little more ruthless I guess but still a pervert running on his baser instincts." Issei whispered the words in a tiny voice, just barely enough for Rias to hear the self-loathing in them.

"I was an idiot who could be distracted by oppai even in the middle of battle, and my perversion was a fatal weakness. Of course, with my new power to absorb and recreate any weapon I touched and heal from just about any injury, I was foolish enough to believe myself invincible…" Issei trailed off with a bitter smile on his face.

"And what happened?" Rias asked in curiosity before worrying that she might have crossed a line when Issei burst out in laughter. "What happened buchou? What happened was I paid in full for my hubris. During my travels, I ran into one _bitch_ who exploited my lust, worst of all, I wasn't even the one who suffered for my mistake. Ya know, up to that point in my life, besides my family, I only ever cared for one person above my own wellbeing."

" _Issei-nii! Issei-nii! Look at this! Isn't it wonderful? Neh, Issei-nii can I call you nii-san now? Can I? Can I?"_ The voice of a child intruded into Issei's thoughts and he raised his head to the heavens, he worried that if he didn't the tears would start flowing again and wouldn't stop.

"The blow was meant for me damnit! It was my fault! I was distracted by my perversion and he jumped in front of me when I failed to dodge." Balling his hands into fists in rage, Issei's voice came out in choked sobs. Rias stood silently behind him, her hands clasped over her mouth, never would she have guessed that Issei had such a tragedy occur in his past, not with how cheerful he'd always been.

"It was all my fault… I never even got to say goodbye… after… after that, I swore never to let my instincts control my actions. I can be a pervert, but I will never again let it interfere… the price is too damn high. And so I rewrote myself, so that such a mistake would never happen again. One day, one day I'll find that _bitch_ and make her pay in full with interest compounded in blood."

Issei sighed and allowed the grief and anger to drain away, leaving a tired broken shell behind. "But that's still a long way off yet, I have never managed to find any trace of her. When I do, I will be requesting a leave of absence to settle the score, but until then I will serve."

Rias placed one comforting hand on his shoulder but otherwise didn't say anything. The two devils simple stood in silence under the moonlight.

* * *

Author's notes: So ends the first arc where Issei becomes a devil. The next chapter will be a mini arc focusing on Issei and Matsuda before the Phenex arc starts. I do hope that this chapter clears up some questions as to what kind of a person Issei is and why he is no longer controlled by his perversion like in canon. IMO Issei has always been the kind of person to put the needs of his friends and family above his own even if he doesn't always know the best way to go about doing that, the few times he's gone berserk mainly stems from his people being hurt. In canon, the situation has always been resolved like how Asia was reincarnated as a devil after Raynare stole her sacred gear. But here there wasn't any deus ex machina to fix things and Issei changed after that.

* * *

Omake: True evil.

"Alright, I think that about covers everything, nothing seems to be wrong with the contract and there aren't any loopholes that'll screw me over. If there is nothing else, I'm fine with becoming a devil now." Issei handed the signed contract over to Rias.

"Of course there wasn't any. But how did you know that anyway, I didn't think you were the kind of person to be an expert at picking through a contract like that." Rias smiled and asked Issei teasingly.

"That's because I'm not, I called in an expert for that. You all remember Gael don't you?" Issei asked as Rias and the rest of her peerage nodded. "He's perfect for a job like this."

Gael stepped forward at Issei's words. "Ah yes, see before I got dragged into all the supernatural bullshit and became a bloodhound, I held another profession."

"Ara? A man of many talents aren't you?" Akeno piped up.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I was and still am a lawyer." Gael blinked as the room emptied as soon as he uttered the last word, only Issei was still at his seat sipping tea.

"What the!? Where'd everybody go?" Gael looked around in surprise before he found the devils huddling in a corner, trying to put as much distance between them and him. As he approached them, all of them whipped out a crucifix and held it up against him.

"The power of Christ commands you! Begone from this place foul spawn of darkness! The power of Christ commands you!" The devils chanted in unison.

"OH COME ON!"


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 9** : Phantasm

"Did somebody summon a- AHHRRGHH I'M FRIENDLY! DON'T SHOOT!" Issei reached for the skies as he emerged from the summoning circle and found himself staring down the barrel of ten loaded assault rifles wielded by ten very angry soldiers.

"Who the hell are you and how did you- wait I know you, you're one of Matsuda's buddies, colonel… colonel Hyoudou I believe. Pray tell, what exactly are you doing here?" The apparent leader recognised Issei and lowered his rifle.

Wearing a modified officer's uniform, the man was bald much like Issei's buddy and a pair of silver grey eyes stared at Issei in annoyance. "I get that you and the other one, moto… moto something or other are _special cases_ but military regulations still have to be observed, if your idea of a prank is sneaking onto a top-secret military installation it isn't funny."

"Uhhh… this is the pacific base, right? I didn't mean to come here actually, did… did someone make a wish while holding onto that flyer?" Issei nervously pointed at the Gremory flyer lying forgotten on the edge of the table with the other hand still in the air, very conscious of the other nine guns still directed his way.

"Maybe I did… you a genie or something?"

"Uhh… not exactly… can, can you guys put down the guns now so I can explain in peace thank you." Issei replied nervously, he knew exactly what those guns could do to him having been on the wrong end of one courtesy of Matsuda a long time ago. The bullets wouldn't kill him but they'd make him wish he was dead.

A small motion from their commander later and the rest lowered their rifles as well and Issei heaved a sigh of relief. "Alright colonel, I am rear admiral Aurelius, welcome aboard the Vengeance, first of the Nemesis class assault carriers… now explain yourself."

-line break

"First an alien hybrid and now a devil, nothing is ever simple with you now is it colonel? Well, that's fine, if you can help us out with our… _situation_ , I will offer proper compensation."

"Uh yeah, I'm not actually a colonel, I just happened to impersonate one on a mission a long time ago." Issei made a futile attempt to stop Aurelius from calling him that. "Be that as it may, I cannot have a civilian interfering with our operations… no matter how _gifted_. You've been drafted and been given a field promotion to colonel, this way you get the clearance and you answer directly to me and only to me when working with us."

"Haaaah… if you say so… sir. Now what exactly did you want me to do?"

Instead of answering, Aurelius picked up two pictures and placed them in front of Issei. "Thirteen days ago, there was a massive energy spike originating from the bottom of challenger deep, existing monitoring equipment registered an explosion of unknown origin."

Pointing at the first image of a massive crater "And this, is an image we captured twelve hours after the blast." Issei marvelled slightly at the image, if he was reading the scale correctly, the crater was truly gigantic. His attention was then directed to the second image. "And this was taken twenty-four hours after the blast."

Issei frowned at Aurelius' words. "Shouldn't that be a day before the blast, not after? The second one is kind of missing a crater."

"That's the issue at hand. Within twelve hours the entire crater disappeared, you can't see it from this image but that's not rock and sand you're looking at. Our sensors weren't able to get a good reading on it before we lost contact with all of them."

"All of them?"

" _All_ of them, due to the nature of challenger deep itself, getting sensors into place is a lot easier said than done, only a few were ever deployed there and they've gone dark. Satellite coverage is spotty at best and we have next to no idea what's actually happening down there."

"…You want me to investigate?" Issei mulled it over, with Sentinel's capabilities, navigating the bottom of the ocean was a pain in the ass to be sure but not impossible.

"That is your secondary objective, your primary one is search and rescue."

"Eh?"

"What little we managed to get from our satellites indicated that the energy leftover from the initial blast has not dissipated yet. Nine days ago, we dispatched one of our agents to investigate, like our sensors, he's gone dark. I want you to find and extract him." Aurelius stated in a serious tone.

Issei blinked once before frowning. "Nine days? Uhh, I don't mean to be a pessimist but whoever you sent is likely a corpse by now."

"You needn't worry about that." Aurelius shook his head at Issei's misgivings. "We sent the good major himself. Matsuda is incapable of dying, but he hasn't been able to report back. Chances are he's been compromised and is now stuck there, you are to retrieve him and any info he has."

'Matsuda is down there? Well, guess that explains why he hasn't returned yet.' Nodding to acknowledge his orders, Issei stood to leave. "Alright, I'll go save his sorry ass now. Anything else?"

"Just one, I'm told you're capable of deploying a Shiva on command, if the situation proves untenable, nuke everything. If this is a precursor to an invasion I want whatever going on down there gone, we clear on that colonel?"

"Crystal."

-line break

Clad in the silver armour of his assault mode, Issei was rapidly descending. Already 80% of the way there, he was bored to say the least. Deep in the abyss where sunlight never reached, there wasn't a whole lot for him to look at except empty water. The only bit of excitement he had was a return message from Rias acknowledging that he might be gone for a few days for the job.

 **[Colonel all sensors are clear, there's nothing within a half mile of us in any direction.]**

'Stop calling me- oh fuck I really am a colonel now. Never mind, I can't see shit in any direction so I'll take your word for it. Let me know if I'm about to run into any fishes alright?'

 **[Colonel, there are no life signs within a half mile of you.]**

Issei paused his descent at that, brows knitted into a frown. 'That can't be right. No fish? Not even the deep ocean variety? I know there is life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and we're not quite there yet, so where is everything.'

 **[Unknown, not enough data to conclude. This section of the ocean appears to be barren of all life.]**

'…That is in no way ominous… I don't like this, none of our ranged weapons work this far down and I have no magical attacks yet. Is the link with the markers on the surface holding? I want to be able to leave in an instant if everything goes pear shaped.'

 **[Link is holding colonel.]**

'Good now we just have to- hold up, what the hell… is that.'

Finally reaching the bottom, Issei was met with a sight he never expected to see. What appeared to be a medieval castle stood at the bottom of the ocean floor, only, it was inverted. Somehow, the entire structure managed to balance upside down on the tip of the tallest tower, it refused to topple even if the current.

 **[Sensors do not register anything there.]**

'So I'm hallucinating?'

 **[Negative, all brain patterns reading normal. Hypothesis, this is the source of the energy signature admiral Aurelius was referring to.]**

'Perhaps, well nothing to gain standing around, let's go in.' Issei cautiously advanced towards the structure. Orbiting it a few times, he saw only one entrance available, the open main doors. Careful of an ambush, Issei formed an arm blade on his left arm before approaching it.

When he tried touching the walls and nearby windows, he was disconcerted to see his hand go straight through them, as though they were nothing more than an illusion. But once he entered the castle proper and tried touching the windows from within, they were solid. When he tried punching through it, the glass refused to yield in the slightest, not even a scratch marred the surface.

Landing on the 'ceiling' of the castle, Issei was caught off guard when the doors slammed shut on their own and the water started draining from the place. Sliding into a combat stance, Issei slowly lowered his guard when nothing rushed him immediately.

Once the water had completely drained, light illuminated the place and Issei was unable to find its source, his sensors consistently came up blank. As far as he could tell, the light was just… there. Then the multiple torch sconces lining the walls lit up with a ball of light just hovering in mid-air. The chandelier sticking upwards did much the same.

"Again. This is in no way ominous." The previously closed door at the end of the room swung open soundlessly, a long line of sconces lighting up one at a time as though inviting him in. His sensors still reading zero, to Issei's eyes, the corridor beyond seemed to go on forever.

"Perfect, just perfect… now all I need are the headless ghosts to come welcome me and that will just make my day." Drawing a pistol, Issei opened fire on the locked door behind him and smiled bitterly when the bullets just bounced off without leaving a scratch.

He sighed and advanced through the open doorway in front of him, he didn't really have much of a choice in that. As he walked through, the doors swung shut silently behind him, leaving him alone in the endless corridor.

'Sentinel, anything?'

 **[Negative colonel, sensors still showing nothing. Connection with most markers on the surface cut off. Only the marker aboard the Vengeance is still linked, connection is intermittent.]**

'Well that's just perfect, try to maintain it, I don't think we're shooting our way out of this one. Teleportation might be the only way out.'

Issei continued marching down the hallway, arm blade at the ready, running his other hand along the walls, annoyance was rapidly building in him. walking for almost ten minutes now and he was still nowhere near the end of the hallway, he didn't understand how the hell this was even possible. In the time he'd been walking, he'd traversed at least five times the length of the castle he'd measured from the outside.

"This is bullshit. Maybe I missed something earlier." Igniting his boosters, Issei flew back the way he came, only to find that he wasn't making progress in that direction either. With his speed, he should have returned to the entrance in an instant but somehow the corridor never seemed to end in that direction either.

"Okay… if I didn't know it before, I know it now. Someone is definitely screwing with me." Halting his flight since it wasn't doing him any favours, Issei summoned his missile arsenal and unloaded everything into his surroundings, trying to find a way to break out of this prison.

As the smoke cleared, his eyes twitched as the walls remained unmarked.

As he was about to curse again, his danger sense went haywire, screaming at him to run or be destroyed. Issei frowned as he directed all guns outwards and rotated slowly while still in the air sweeping the area for hostiles.

Once more he found nothing and his suit's sensors read all clear. Issei refused to let his guard down even after minutes of nothingness. In his less than peaceful life, he'd learnt to trust his instincts the hard way, it hadn't let him down just yet and he wasn't about to distrust it because he couldn't find anything.

Just as well he didn't. Issei barely reacted in time as a sword erupted from the 'floor' and nearly skewered his head. Tilting his head to the side, he just barely avoided the blade before lashing out with his arm blade and hacking the arm attached to the sword off.

A roar of pain and anger met his actions as the rest of his assailant pulled himself from the 'floor' and stood on it in defiance of gravity. Vaguely humanoid, it was a weird cross between a misshapen skeleton and a suit of armour that had been partially melted and cooled countless times to form a strange work of art.

Issei didn't have time to admire the looks of the newcomer as more copies of it started pulling themselves from the walls and advancing on him from every direction.

'Screw this.' Issei dashed backwards and avoided the abominations blocking his path before coming around and morphing his arm into a Gatling gun and filling the hallway with lead. The hail of bullets rapidly cut down the approaching monstrosities but they just kept emerging from the walls. With a sinking heart, Issei noted that the ones he'd destroyed were picking themselves back together again and joining the rest of the mob.

As Issei continued backing away, his pursuers gained a sudden burst of speed and started lunging at him swinging their swords as they went. Issei cursed as they rapidly caught up with him and an attempt to parry with his own blade left him a stump as their swords cut clean through his with no resistance. Instantly reforming the stump into a second Gatling, Issei doubled the number of bullets flying and bought himself some time.

Pushing his boosters to the max, Issei did his best to outrun the mob to no avail. New monsters constantly emerged from the walls, and the ones pursuing managed to increase their speed to match his. At this point, if he wasn't so busy swearing, Issei would have called bullshit. He was already flying backwards at three times the speed of sound yet the mob could keep up just by running.

"Sentinel! I'm running out of options here!"

 **[Sensors are still unable to scan hostiles, recommendation, escape and evasion]**

"Oh yeah sure, escape to where exactly!? This corridor is endless and they're coming from everywhere, I GRRAGGHHH!" Issei screamed and cursed as one of his undying opponents had the genius idea to hurl its sword. Unable to dodge in the narrow confines of the hallway, Issei's last ditch attempt to keep the blade from bisecting him resulted in one of his arms being loped off at the shoulder.

Silver ichor dripped from the wound as his body's self-repair functions kicked in to rebuild a new arm. His rate of fire cut by half, Issei was unable to keep the rest of the mob from catching up to him and only a spectacular series of mid-air acrobatics kept him from sustaining any further damage.

As the yet another one of the monstrosities tried to stab him in the back, Issei used his half-formed arm to grab the offender and hurl him at the wall. To his great surprise and immense relief, the wall actually crumbled when it's sword struck it, revealing a flight of stairs descending.

Deciding that anything was better than just sticking around waiting to be cut down, Issei dashed through the gap and almost broke down in relief when he noticed that the mob wasn't following, instead sinking back into the castle's walls.

'Well we're safe for now. Sentinel, how the hell did that sword cut through the armour and blades? This thing was built to take damage way beyond what a simple sword throw is capable off, shit not even Jibril managed to break my blade that easily. And why the hell couldn't I warp away?'

 **[Unknown, not enough data to conclude. Link to marker is holding but warping is disabled. Cause unknown.]**

'Did the bloody sensors get anything this time!?'

 **[Affirmative colonel, sensors remain unable to get a read on hostiles or the environment, however sensors did react when your left arm was severed. Energy readings read zero and infinite when blade was passing through.]**

'What.'

 **[Hypothesis, reality is being rewritten on a local scale hence enemy capability to breach defences and sensors unable to get a read on surrounding.]**

Issei swore a blue streak when he heard Sentinel's analysis, if proven true, this was the last thing he was equipped to deal with. First Jibril and now this, Issei cursed his luck at forcing him to deal with opponents who refuse to die when shot.

'This just blows, reality warping is Motohama's area of expertise not mine. Damnit all, Sentinel, any sign of Matsuda? I just want to find him and then a way out of this hellhole.'

 **[Sensors have picked up Matsuda's signal deeper within this complex but are unable to pinpoint his location with accuracy due to this complex's structures not registering on them.]**

"So we keep searching the old fashioned way huh?" Giving one last heartfelt curse, Issei resumed his descent before the stairs opened up into a dungeon like area. Multiple unused jail cells lined the halls, like everything else in the areas he'd visited earlier, his surroundings were once again inverted in defiance of gravity.

This time, there was no endless hallway for him to get trapped in, instead he found himself lost in a maze of similar dungeons as each opened up into a hallway leading to more dungeons. His attempt at creating a map with Sentinel's assistance fizzled out quickly when he realised that doing so was impossible.

He'd left markers in each of the rooms he visited and was disconcerted to find that he couldn't pinpoint their location once he vacated the room and shut the door. Usually he was able to narrow it down to a few millimetres off and get a rough idea of what was around it otherwise he'd never be able to teleport without warping straight into a rock or something.

But here, he wasn't capable to pinpointing them, they were just… there. Even when he tried retracing a previous route to hit a specific room he was looking for he wasn't able to succeed. Somehow, he'd wind up in brand new rooms or another room that he'd already visited.

"Oh come on, how have I not been here before? This should be room A12." Issei marched out the door and slammed it shut behind him. As he was about to continue onwards, a stray thought ran through his head. Doing an about face, he opened the door he just closed and a vein popped on his head. "This… this is room B3… what. The. Fuck. THE ROOMS ARE SHIFTING!? ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?"

Slamming the door shut again, he swung it open to find that the room had changed once more.

Issei shuddered as he took a deep breath and sat down in the middle of the hallway surrounded by the four doors. "Alright, so this place is just as screwy as the never-ending hallway above… there's got to be some trick to it. Okay I can do this, I can do this… the last time, things changed when I shot everything, those things started coming out of the walls. Failed to escape until one of their own weapons broke the wall…"

Issei nodded to himself before throwing the door open again and entering. "Room B7, why not, it's as good a place to start as any." Clapping his hands together, Issei summoned his armaments back and unleashed a salvo into his surroundings before waiting for the smoke to clear and any changes to take shape.

He didn't have to wait long, this time, strange golems shaped like chess pieces with limbs rose from the ground and… ate several missiles to the face. Unlike their brethren above, these ones did not reanimate nor did their numbers increase endlessly.

Issei made sure nothing was moving anymore before exiting the room again. Closing the door, he sucked in a deep breath before entering once more. This time he was pleased to see that the room did not change, the destruction and scattered parts remained.

"Alright progress! Ahahahahah!" Giving into a brief burst of insane laughter, Issei coughed and regained his posture before making for the door at the end. Repeating the process a further two times, he made note that the rooms he'd passed through remained constant. The way back was clear and every door in the hallways always lead to the next room in the sequence.

Even when he deliberately entered more than two untouched rooms in a row and didn't break anything, all he needed to do to return was go back through the door he came through and open any one of the other three to reach the first in the chain of destroyed rooms.

After twenty rooms in a row, Issei finally opened a door into a room unlike any of the previous dungeon ones. This room appeared to be a throne room of sorts with a very high 'ceiling', except where there should be a throne, a giant black hued mirror stood.

"Okay… this is new. Better make sure the way back is clear before I go in." Without stepping foot into it just yet, Issei returned through nineteen destroyed rooms and when he opened the door to the first, he found himself back at the castle entrance, he could tell it was the original and not a copy from his spent shell casings still on the 'floor'.

"Okay… the entrance again, isn't this supposed to be the doorway to the endless corridor though? Ah hell, why am I still questioning this place? Logic clearly does not apply here. Just to be sure, Sentinel, those are our shell casings, right?"

 **[Affirmative colonel.]**

Nodding, Issei returned to the throne room with the mirror and entered it. He didn't have time to react before a bolt of lightning punched a smoking hole clean through his chest and sent him crashing to the 'ceiling' far below.

"Time to die you son of a- Issei? Is that you?" The voice of a familiar baldy reached Issei as his figure came into view on the 'ceiling'.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow… of course it's me idiot. Was the lightning really necessary?" Issei swore as the hole slowly knit itself back together.

"Sorry, force of habit, I'm real tired of being jumped in this place so I just blast everything as soon as I sense them… by the way… what are you doing on the ceiling?"

"What do you mean what am I doing on the ceiling, gravity is messed up in this place, this _is_ the floor... and you're standing on the actual floor… what."

Matsuda shook his head in consternation before replying. "More reality warping bullshit. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Eh your boss hired me to bust you out and nuke the place if necessary, at this point I'm considering doing so even if he didn't order it."

"Admiral Aurelius? There's a story there you're going to have to fill me in on later but bust me out? How do you intend to do that? Do you even have a way back to the entrance?"

"Yep, it's just behind a few doors." Issei floated upwards and opened the door he came through… only to be met with a blank wall behind it. "Okay… this is new…"

"Figured as much, this mirror here is the key to this place, help me look it over and before you shoot it again, don't. It won't end well."

"I take it I already tried."

Matsuda shot Issei a withering glare. "Yeah you did, the walls crushed us to a pulp after that, luckily my ability to reset reality in a limited area is still working even if I can't leave. Still I'm surprised they sent a rescue team already, I've only been here for two days."

"Uh… you've been missing for nine days actually." Issei corrected his buddy on that and was amused by the long string of profanity that resulted. "You're joking, this place can warp time as well? Fuck, just how far is it going to go just to eat us."

"…What?" Issei blanked out momentarily at that. "Oh come on Issei, don't tell me you haven't noticed. This _castle_ is alive and trying to eat us, it's already devoured every scrap of life within miles of this place. It's draining our lifeforce even as we speak. This thing… whatever it is… needs to be stopped before it expands onto the surface, it is entirely possible it'll overrun humanity within days."

"It's growing?"

"Yep. I can sense it's lifeforce growing with every passing minute, and there is the small matter of its ability to manifest the thoughts of anyone inside it. This entire castle and the abominations within weren't here when I arrived, it was just a black void that sucked me in. This place is a distorted version of a place I once visited a long time ago."

Issei listened with a growing sense of dread in his heart before he flew towards the giant mirror and inspected it. Upon close inspection, the mirror itself wasn't a normal one, the frame itself was ordinary but instead a reflective sheet of metal, it was something… else.

It felt familiar to him for some reason but he couldn't quite place his hands on it. The best way Issei could describe it was to call it window, upon reaching out to touch it, it wasn't solid at all and his hands passed clean through it. The mirror also refused to show his reflection even when Matsuda's appeared in it.

"Hey Matsuda, why the hell doesn't this thing show my reflection?"

The baldy deadpanned, "how would I know? I've only been here for six hours, your guess is as good as mine, just don't get us killed again. Just because I can reset upon death doesn't mean dying doesn't hurt.

 **[Colonel, suit's rangefinders are reading infinite distance, mirror appears to be a sort of dimensional ripple held in place]**

'Odd… I know this, why do I know this?' Issei continued staring into the reflective darkness that failed to show his image. A sudden spike of pain shot through his head and his vision blurred, when he stared at the mirror again, the image changed for the briefest of moments but was firmly seared into his mind.

It was still him, he was sure of that, only… he looked different, older… evil. His hair was longer and pure black instead of the brown that he grew up with. He was clad in his assault mode minus his helm except the armour was more angular and dark grey instead of the silver that it actually was, it also looked corrupted as multiple pulsing black veins covered the metal and seemed to glow with darkness as paradoxical as that sounded.

But it was the eyes that haunted Issei, no longer were they brown, instead the sclera had turned black and his irises were a brilliant crimson. No warmth could be felt in them and the cold light of insanity burned in them. Issei felt his blood chill just looking at them, if the eyes were the windows to the soul, his reflection had one steeped in madness.

As quickly as it came, the vision faded and the mirror returned to normal, Issei was left shaking in his boots, it took Matsuda's shaking to snap him out of his stupor. "What the hell did you do Issei, the castle's energy readings just spiked!"

"Huh… w-what?" Issei blinked as his senses returned to him and that's when he noticed the entire castle itself was shaking, dust was falling upwards from the ceiling and cracks appeared in the walls of the throne room.

With the sound of breaking glass, a giant crack appeared in the mirror and started to spread.

"I don't like this." Issei's danger sense was going haywire again and sure enough, multiple hostiles started pulling themselves from their surroundings. This time, they were standard suits of animated armour, standing at twice the height of a normal human, they wielded weapons to match.

Standing back to back, Issei and Matsuda attacked with everything they had to break the encirclement. Bullets and missiles were Issei's choice of weaponry while Matsuda busied himself with keeping up and unceasing barrage of lightning spears.

As they kept up their barrage, the cracks in the world around them started increasing in number. Issei cursed as the first armour reached him and its sword swing came close to decapitating him. Ducking under the swing, Issei formed an arm blade and bisected the offender before punching another hard enough to send it flying.

Then the floor opened up into a void, Issei with his ability to fly was fine but Matsuda never stood a chance. With a short curse, he fell straight into it and the hole closed up, cutting him off from Issei. With his partner gone, Issei was overwhelmed eventually and a lucky hit sent him flying into the mirror. Black tendrils shot out and grabbed hold of him as soon as he touched it before dragging him in.

With the two intruders gone, the animated armours fell apart on their own and were reabsorbed into the ground.

-line break

Matsuda groaned as he landed in a heap, the void had dropped him into a courtyard of some sort and he had the bad luck of landing on the hard cobblestone floor instead of the soft grass or the nearby pond. Without anything rushing to kill him just yet, Matsuda took a moment to just lie there and catch his breath.

Once again, his warping was disabled in this place and he had no way of returning to the throne room to check on Issei. "Some days it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning." Sighing one last time, he got to his feet and surveyed his surroundings.

High walls boxed him in and the courtyard itself would have been beautiful if not for the wrongness of it all. The 'sky' was pitch black nothingness and the trees seemed twisted, thick green sap leaked from them, forming diseased pools that gave him chills just looking at them. Ivy and moss had overrun whatever stone work there was and cracks pulsating with darkness ran along everything.

There was only one way forward, through a giant metal door that had been bent completely out of shape by some massive force. Shrugging, Matsuda withdrew an ornate dagger with glowing blue runes etched on its blade. Spinning it in his hands once, a blue crystal blade formed around the dagger, granting it the same reach as a standard longsword.

"Hollows, how nostalgic." Matsuda laughed quietly to himself as the first wave of enemies rushed him as soon as he approached the door. Multiple zombie like men in various stages of decay clad in rags met their end at his blade as he mowed them down with ruthless efficiency.

Blood and severed limbs flew everywhere as Matsuda carved a bloody path to victory. For the first time in two days he was smiling now, despite the fact that the castle was still pretty much screwing him over, he could now regain his strength by fighting. He could feel it in his soul, every kill he made increased his power as he siphoned the lifeforce of his opponents.

"Guess they did copy everything from my memories, even the fodder is acting as it should, ahahhaha all you can eat… but why couldn't this place have made some sexy ladies damnit? Is it too much to ask for just one girl!?" Matsuda roared his frustration as he eviscerated the last hollow.

He found himself standing in a giant chapel after the massacre, a glowing crystal orb sitting atop the altar. "This looks promising." As he approached, the sound of glass shattering, reached his ears and a massive weight fell on top of him, crushing him into fine paste in an instant.

A short distance away, a burst of ash and cinders exploded into being and Matsuda reformed within. As he stared at the thing that just killed him, his face turned green with disgust and he had to fight hard to push down the urge to retch.

"I take it back… I TAKE IT BACK! I DON'T WANT NO GIRLS!"

The figure before him was without a doubt the ugliest thing he'd ever seen and that was saying something. It was… female…. But quite possibly the most abhorrent caricature of one in existence. Obscene layers of fat undulated as it turned to face him, black blood poured from its pores and an unholy green flame burned in its empty eye sockets. Flabby arms flailed around while wielding twin oversized butcher knives and its tiny misshapen legs wriggled uselessly, all in all it looked like an oversized blob with limbs attached.

And for Matsuda, a fine connoisseur of the female form, the worst part of it all had to be the fact that it wore no clothes, giving him an eyeful of yellowish maggot-ridden diseased skin. He lasted all of thirty seconds before his stomach voided its contents.

"T-this is an abomination. Yeuch… for the good of the wold I will destroy it." Wiping away the remaining traces of vomit from his mouth, Matsuda drew his dagger once more and summoned its crystal blade.

Summoning a lightning spear in his other hand, he hurled it at the beast and grinned savagely as it exploded in a spark of electricity, dealing damage and eliciting a scream of pain. Dodging the counterattack, he ran under its arms slashing as he went, opening up rents that poured black blood.

Ducking under another swing, Matsuda hurled a giant lightning bolt into the sky and had it burst into a shower of smaller ones, raining down on the beast. As it was distracted by the pain, he successfully circled round to the back and stabbed his crystal blade into the demon and forced the blade to detonate within, the crystal shards shredding everything in their path.

Pain and anger giving it strength, the abomination delivered a massive swing with tremendous speed, unable to dodge in time, Matsuda took the full brunt of the blow and was sent flying before crashing painfully into the wall.

As he pulled himself to his feet, he left a spider web of cracks behind. "Damnit, that fucking hurts. Multiple ruptured organs, half my bones are shattered and internal bleeding all over. Praise the sun I still have estus."

Whipping out a bottle filled with an orange liquid, he drained the whole thing and felt reenergised as his wounds healed in an instant. Storing the bottle once more, he spat on the ground and grinned before rushing back into the fight.

A burst of ash and embers later and a small shield formed on his arm, as his opponent's attack came once more, he showed off his own inhuman strength as he used that shield to parry the knife, deflecting it cleanly and leaving the monster open.

A ball of flames formed in his hands and he hurled it with all his strength, expanding as it left him, the ball struck the creature's head dead on and engulfed it in a massive conflagration. Its distorted scream was cut off as Matsuda followed up with a lightning bolt to the face.

Summoning a new crystal blade, he circled round to the back again while the creature was still reeling and once more backstabbed it and detonated the blade, gouging out another massive hole in its back.

Matsuda deftly avoided the haphazard swings and tossed a fireball into the gaping wound, the subsequent explosion knocked the beast down and gave him time to sprint up its body. As the abomination's damaged head twisted to look at him, he leapt while forming a third crystal blade.

Landing atop its face, he plunged the blade straight into its right eye socket and detonated it one last time. Its struggles intensified for a brief moment before it stilled and moved no more.

"Well that takes care of that, now… what the hell was that orb again?" Jumping off the corpse, Matsuda approached the altar that had miraculously remained intact even after that fracas. The crystals glow had shifted from a soft blue to a bright green now and just as he was about to reach for it, Issei's voice stopped him.

"Whoa don't touch it! If you touch it now… well it is programmed to warp you to somewhere else, unless you feel like fighting your way to it again I suggest you don't."

Matsuda blinked as he a spectral version of Issei appeared next to him. "You dead and haunting me now?"

"Hell no, I'm lost somewhere else in this castle. Point is, don't touch that, gimme some time to get to the other crystal. Both of them must be destroyed at the same time to stop this madness."

"And you know this how? How do I know you're not some trick of the castle?" Matsuda asked with scepticism, he wouldn't put it past the castle to create illusions to mess with his head.

"Okay… don't believe me then, touch it. I have time to wait after all."

"…Fine, waiting won't make a difference anyway since I can just reset out. But how do you know?"

"You remember the mirror? Yeah, that shit tried to absorb me, came damned close to doing so too, fortunately I'm fucking magic now, that and Sentinel's a massive help, so I ate it instead."

"You what?"

"Don't ask me man, Sentinel's still processing the information, what I do know is that there are two keystones in the castle, you've already found one and I'll be at the second soon. This thing… responsible for the castle and all its bullshit doesn't exist in this plane, both keystones must be destroyed at the same time to pull it over."

"…Then we kill it?"

"I have a Shiva for its welcoming present."

-line break

'Sentinel, how much longer before we reach the keystone?'

 **[ETA 30 seconds, colonel, guardian is expected to spawn as soon as we leave the elevator.]**

'Good, that'll save me time on hunting it down.' Issei hefted the Mistilteinn and checked its charge. '95% and ready to discharge, excellent.'

As the sound of machinery came to a halt, Issei exited the elevator and immediately used his thrusters to make a mad dash for the other end of the room as a massive burst of lava splashed down on where he stood, melting everything.

The culprit, a centipede like demon crawling on the ceiling looked down on him and snarled, molten rock dripping from its jaws.

"You good?" Matsuda's voice came through the projection hovering next to him.

"Yeah, just need to…" Issei trailed off as his weapon discharged in a blue flash of lightning and thunder. A few seconds later, the demon's corpse minus its head hit the ground with a thud, copious amounts of lava flowing from its wounds. "Done."

Approaching the keystone nestled in a small alcove cut into the wall, Issei reformed the railgun into his arm blade and pointed at it. "Alright, I'm ready, you might want to suit up. Chances are once the keystones are destroyed, this space will collapse with it, and we are still at the bottom of the ocean."

"Very well." The projection of Matsuda pulled out a mask and placed it over his face, once he did, a colourless ooze poured out and enveloped him before solidifying into a suit of armour not unlike Issei's assault mode. "On three then. Three… two… one…"

Both struck at the keystones at the same time, shattering them into countless glass fragments. Immediately, the castle started to rumble violently, cracks appearing everywhere. Multiple tears in the fabric of reality opened up, creating portals to elsewhere in the crumbling castle.

Matsuda and Issei needed no further encouragement and hightailed it to the exit. Both of them met up again in the entrance hall and Issei grabbed Matsuda by his shoulders and took to the air, the constant upheaval and water pouring it in making it near impossible for him to walk.

Multiple spikes shot out from the ground and ceiling as the door bent and shattered, the opening widening to the sides as though being unzipped. "ARE THOSE TEETH!? CRAP, CRAP, CRAP… THEY ARE TEETH!" Issei screamed as he dodged the spikes and fought against the water pushing him back to escape the castle.

Both of them shot out of the doorway and as they looked back, the castle itself was shifting in form, turning into a gargantuan beast made of a mishmash of masonry and darkness. A single glowing red eye stared back at them.

Its jaws widened and it lunged forward with surprising speed considering its size, trying to devour them. "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! ISSEI THE SHIVA… FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ACTIVATE THE SHIVA!"

"On it!" Issei sent a mental command to the Shiva and watched in awe as the bomb he left behind detonated. A massive burst of energy ripped apart the beast's side and countless secondary explosions blossomed along its body as the blast annihilated everything.

Stopping in its tracks, the beast convulsed as fire spewed from its maw and it started to sink back into the abyss.

"Woooo… so that's what happens when you activate an anti-matter bomb… good to know."

"Issei… not to rain on your parade or anything… BUT THAT THING IS STILL ALIVE!"

"What!?" Matsuda's warning was the only thing that allowed him to avoid the multiple tendrils of darkness from grabbing onto him. As the bubbles cleared, Issei got a good look at the beast once more, half of it was gone from the blast but the damned thing was still regenerating.

 **[Colonel, link to markers re-established, warping is available again.]**

"Get us out of here Sentinel!" Issei screamed in panic as the tendrils came round again without any way for him to dodge this time. Just before they hit, the duo vanished in a burst of blue sparks.

Reappearing on board the Vengeance, both stood to find themselves facing dozens of rifles pointed their way. "Who the… Major it is good to have you back. And colonel, are you going to make this a habit."

"Colonel!? What the hell Issei? No, before that, Sir, we have a situation."

"What kind of situation? I thought I sent the colonel out two days ago to nuke the anomaly if the situation goes FUBAR."

"Hahahah uh yeah… I nuked it, but…"

"Admiral! Massive energy spike detected at the bottom of the ocean, SIR IT'S HEADED RIGHT FOR US!" One of Aurelius' officers shouted from his station.

"Send us up, get all weapon systems online, use the slip drives if we have to. Now what the hell did the two of you do?"

"I nuked it."

"It didn't die."

"And now it wants to eat us all."

Aurelius cursed at those words, before returning to his command chair and hitting a few buttons on the arm rest. "All hands brace for emergency jump."

The ship shuddered as a veil of energy enveloped it and with a violent shake, the entire carrier warped away. Reappearing in the sky, the crewmen were treated to the sight of multiple jet-black spikes shooting up from the water's surface where their ship was a few seconds ago.

The water surface bubbled as though boiling and the beast surfaced, now twice as large as it was earlier, the wound dealt to it by the Shiva had almost closed up. Its single red eye observed the tiny dot that was the Vengeance high above and it roared, the sound a physical wall of force that rocked the ship as soon as it hit, sending everyone not carefully braced to the ground.

"I want our guns directed on that thing, and I wanted it done yesterday. Light the fucker up. Major, Colonel, pray tell… what is that thing."

"Unknown sir, all we know is that thing has been trying to eat us both for a while now and has already wiped this area of the ocean clean of life."

They watched on in silence as the Vengeance fired a barrage of missiles down onto the behemoth, peppering its side with explosions that failed to do more than annoy it. It sent up thousands of tentacles to strike down the ship as a response and only deft manoeuvring kept the Vengeance from being swatted out of the sky.

"Any suggestions you two? As long as we're planet side the Vengeance can't use its more destructive arsenal, we can't alert the rest of humanity nor can we blow up a chunk of the planet."

"The Shiva seemed to work, I just need to dump more of it in."

"Can you deliver anymore?"

"I need an opening. Do we have anything that can distract it so it doesn't eat me?"

"There is the Damocles prototype… Matsuda, get on that gun, fire control is still offline, you'll have to operate it manually. Colonel, send the bitch to hell, we'll give you that opening."

""Understood.""

Issei made for the side of the ship and jumped over immediately, boosters igniting as he fell. Jetting towards the creature, Issei reformed the Mistilteinn and fired a single round at its eye. He grinned at the bellow of pain that met his ears as the eye screwed shut in pain and as hundreds of tendrils rushed towards him.

Easily weaving through them with practiced ease, Issei returned fire with missiles and small arms fire whenever the opportunity arose. It had been awhile since he was able to gain air superiority like this, their numbers and speed mattered little against him especially when his opponent wasn't named Jibril.

"You may be a bitch underwater, but up here I am king. The skies belong to me asshole, and you are not welcome here." Activating his twice critical to double his energy reserves, he dumped the excess into the Mistilteinn and fired again, once more drawing forth a scream.

'Come on, come on, just open wide asshole so I can drop your presents in.' Issei continued dodging the tendrils as he drew more and more of them away from attacking the ship. Occasionally disappearing and reappearing elsewhere in a blue flash whenever the mass became too thick.

[Issei, I'm ready to shoot, clear the firing arc unless you want to get hit.] Matsuda's voice came over his comms and Issei shot towards the sky once more and as soon as he was clear, a pillar of light descended from the Vengeance, striking the behemoth dead on and blowing away part of its face.

"Wow… that is one overpowered railgun." Issei couldn't help but mutter in appreciation of its destructive capability even as he dashed towards the wounded beast, Shivas already in hand.

[It's a coil gun, not that last century tech you swing around. Get it straight, and how long till you blow it up? The prototype is good for one shot only and that was it.]

"Yeah, yeah on it, just gimme a sec." Dashing past the flailing tendrils, Issei halted right at its destroyed face and hurled the five superweapons into the darkness before teleporting back aboard the Vengeance.

"Package delivered. Detonation in three… two… one… fire in the hole." Issei triggered the explosives remotely once more. This time, the beast did not survive as five suns blossomed into existence within its body, the pure energy released ripped it to pieces and it vanished without even being able to utter a sound. As the body perished, the tendrils outside ground zero stilled and disintegrated into nothingness.

 **[Energy signature has disappeared. Target has been destroyed.]**

"I don't sense its lifeforce anymore… I think it's dead this time."

All present heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Matsuda's words. "Well that's nice and all but I want answers. What the hell was that and where did it come from. More importantly, are there more of it out there?" Aurelius went straight to asking questions.

Issei summoned a small glowing crystal shard from his gauntlet and handed it to the rear admiral. "I was able to recover this from within that… thing. From what I managed to pick up from the shard, that _thing_ is just a fragment of something else. Whatever it is, it was imprisoned a long time ago at the 'end of the world' whatever that means. Needless to say, it wants out and this was one of its attempts. We stopped it this time, whether or not it'll happen again… no one can tell."

"…Just what I needed to hear… you have any good news colonel?"

"Well just one really, that shard you're holding is now inert, but it holds the same reality warping abilities as the actual thing, if you could study and reverse engineer it…" Issei trailed off as he allowed Aurelius to finish the thought himself.

"If I've really been gone for two days, then I'm kind of needed back home, Matsuda can fill you in on the rest." Upon seeing Aurelius nod, Issei saluted and burst into sparks as he teleported away.

Reappearing in his warehouse base, a quick scan told him his tenants were out at the moment. Deactivating assault mode, a troubled expression slipped onto his face.

'Sentinel… that vision… what was it? And how do I know about the beast's origins, I was lying when I said I got the information from the shard.'

 **[Unknown. Due to the fabric of spacetime being convoluted in there, it is entirely possible that the vision was about what might happen at another point in time. I have scanned your memories again and I do not know where the knowledge came from.]**

"Well that just complicates things doesn't it. Question is, was that the past or the future."

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter was supposed to be out two days ago, sorry for the late update. Have not been in the best of health recently so future updates might be slowed to about one a week unless I get better. Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it.

* * *

Omake: knight of shadows

A world on fire, a world without fire, a world in between.

He'd seen it all more times than he cared to count.

So many victories… so many defeats, all meaningless.

His sword broken, his shield heavy, his arms tired.

Freedom… such a pretty word.

Ever seeking it, always denied at the close.

One last try.

He would not be denied his destiny. Victory was his to lose.

All for his… who did he fight for again?

He didn't remember. He couldn't remember.

He saw the other though, one so much like him yet so different.

Silver arms and armour glowing in the morning sun, light shone from his being.

He had power… he must have answers.

He would have answers and he would have freedom…

From what… for who… he didn't know.

But he would fight. It was all he knew.

The shadows bent to his will, their knight would never falter.

A hundred victories, a hundred defeats, he would rise again endlessly.

Soon, he would meet the other, and all would be clear.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 10** : Calm before the storm

Issei was exhausted, his recent devil jobs were taking their toll on him. Within two weeks of returning from his foray to the bottom of the ocean, Aurelius had subsequently called on him five times for missions ranging anywhere from field testing new weapons and providing a target for said weapons. Furthermore, Matsuda still hadn't stopped giving him grief about his rapid promotion to colonel while he remained a major despite having served for years.

Even his saner jobs weren't much easier, especially the ones where he wound up answering the call of a monste… magical girl in a man's body, Mil-tan. His inability to give him/her/it the powers he/she/it was looking for usually resulted in him being forced into a marathon session of magical girl anime. He didn't particularly mind the show, but his company left a lot to be desired. And he still had to check with Rias who the heck was Great Red, supposedly he'd tried and failed to grant Mil-tan's wish already.

And now, he was busy making his way back home after yet another night of spectacular bullshit. Morisawa, one of his more normal clients, had supposedly got his hands on some limited-edition Dragon Ball merchandise including a secret episode and wanted Issei to watch it with him since Koneko wasn't available.

The goods turned out to be cursed and managed to attract the attention of five stray devils. Suffice to say, it all went downhill from there. It wound up dragging till late in the afternoon and cost him the day's lessons, not to mention leaving him covered in eight different kinds of suspicious liquids that he really, _really_ , didn't want to identify. Even a quick shower still left him feeling unclean and now he just wanted to sleep it all off.

[Issei, return to the clubroom immediately, there's a… situation.]

Rias voice coming in over his comms immediately deep-sixed that notion. Issei could only sigh and acknowledge her words before changing course and heading for the school.

-line break

"I will take you back to the underworld even if I have to burn all your servants!" Those words greeted Issei right as he was about to open the door to the ORC clubroom and the burst of hostility and killing intent hit him next.

'Right… never a slow day now is there?'

Raiser was confident, he was a member of the house of Phenex, born with mastery over the wind and flames and the ability to heal from any wound save a blow from a god level attack. In all the rating games he'd played, he'd steamrolled the opposition, only losing on purpose as a favour. He had come to the human world he so detested to claim his rebellious pride, naturally, she didn't want to go along with it.

It should have been simple, flare his power a bit and cow them all into submission, he was stronger than her and none of her servants, not even the newly awoken Sekiryuutei could match him. Things went wrong almost immediately though, right after flaring his power, Grayfia flared hers as well.

Multiple bloody ice spikes erupted from the ground inches away from him to the shock of everyone in the room. Then the air rippled and a new figure faded into existence, a brown-haired boy was currently impaled on the spikes while holding a dagger mere millimetres away from his heart.

He could sense the pure holy energy leaking from the blade and shivered despite himself. Phenex he may be, he was still a devil and any weapon with that much holy energy in it stabbing his heart would cripple if not outright kill him.

"Ooooh good shot. Let's try this again." Instead of screaming in pain, the boy merely smiled and looked Raiser in the eye with pure hatred. One blue flash later and he was tasting leather after being kicked in the face, several of his teeth flying as a result.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see his assailant get impaled with more ice spikes only to escape again in a blue flash, reappearing over Grayfia's head and bringing his heel down in a violent kick. The follow up blast of demonic energy was dodged as he vanished in a flash once more and Raiser felt himself jerk forward into a row of spikes as someone kicked him in the ass unceremoniously.

Extreme agony burst forth in his arm as the boy's dagger scored a long furrow along it before shattering and it took all he had to avoid screaming.

"Lady, you are seriously starting to piss me off." Issei wasn't happy to say the least, his week had been shitty thus far and his attempts to dispose of the threat to his comrades was consistently being foiled by some silver haired woman in a maid outfit of all things. Her latest interference, a single spike spawning right in front of his eye had cost him the single holy dagger he'd been able to forge after Jibril.

'Screw it, I'll pay for damages later. Sentinel, get me the Mistilteinn.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

Warping right in front of the maid, he held the railgun at maximum charge just inches away from her face and prepared to fire even as a new wave of spikes impaled him.

"STOP!"

Rias' words were the only thing that stopped him from pulling the trigger, Issei just cursed before flashing away again to the other side of the room and patched up the holes in his body.

"You know this… miscreant ojou-sama?"

"Yes I do, I apologise for the actions of my new pawn and I assure you this won't happen again."

"Buchou!? Okay… someone care to explain what's going on and why I can't terminate the threats?"

"HOW DARE YOU STRIKE ME WORM! I WILL-"

"You will what? You don't shut up now, I will shove my foot so far up your ass you will be kissing my feet for the rest of your life."

"Issei! That's enough!"

"…Fine. But he threatens to burn anyone in this room again and I _will_ finish what he started." Issei returned his weapon to his sacred gear and leant against the wall after that.

"I WILL NOT SUFFER THIS OUTRAGE! I WILL-" Raiser's outburst was once more cut off by a spike of power from Grayfia. "Please calm down Raiser-sama, if you continue I will not be quiet about it. For Sirzechs-sama's honour, I won't hold back."

"O-of course, to be told that by the strongest queen… not even I'm willing to go up against Sirzechs's group, which is said to be made up entirely of monsters. But I expect an apology from that insect."

"You threaten my friends and want me to apologise for not killing you? You should count yourself lucky you're still breathing, I've killed others for lesser insults."

"Not helping Issei." Rias could feel her sister in law's ire rising along with her demonic power and for the good of the clubroom and her sanity she needed to fix the issue now. The last thing she needed was for Grayfia to find a way to kill her near immortal pawn or him to pull a repeat performance and bring down someone he supposedly stood no chance against. "Just apologise to Raiser now."

"Fine… I'm sorry."

"Ahem." A cough from Grayfia drew the attention of all in the room. "Back to business, I take it you still object to the marriage ojou-sama?"

"Of course! I will never willingly marry this man."

"Lord Gremory, Sirzechs-sama and those from Raiser's family knew it would turn out like this. To be honest, no one expected this situation to be resolved today, a last resort has been put into place."

"A last resort? What do you mean Grayfia?"

"If you wish to nullify the marriage against the will of every other party, how about you settle it in a rating game against Rasier-sama?"

"…" Rias was speechless after hearing those words, and furrowed her brows as she thought about it in silence.

'Rating game? Sentinel, refresh my memory would you.'

 **[Understood colonel, a rating game is a game played by devils with a peerage and they do so by taking part in a battle along with their servants. One's performance in the game affects their social stature, due to the stakes involved and its importance in devil society, rating games are only played by mature devils. It is unknown why Rias who isn't of age yet is being asked to play one.]**

Grayfia's next words answered that question. "Only mature devils can take part in official rating games. However, in an unofficial match between pure-blood devils, even devils who aren't of age can participate. And since this is a matter between houses-"

A bitter smile broke out on Rias face. "In other words, my _family_ decided to have a game as a last resort since they knew I would decline. Just how much do they want to interfere in my life before they are satisfied?"

"Then ojou-sama, are you declining to participate in the game?"

"No. This is a chance to prove myself and settle things at the same time. It's on Raiser, we will settle this on the field." Rias stated with steel in her voice.

Raiser simply smirked where he stood while continuing to clutch his wounded arm. "So you're accepting it, hehe I don't mind at all. I've already participated in official games after all and I've won virtually all of them. Even so, you still want to play?"

"But of course, I have faith in my peerage and my own abilities."

"If you say so my dear. If you win, do whatever you like, but if you lose… you will marry me immediately."

Issei stared in amusement as Rias and Raiser glared at each other with burning intensity. He'd pieced together enough to form a conclusion. Douchebag wants to marry Rias. Rias doesn't want to marry Douchebag. And now they fight for it. With douchebag being so willing to burn his friends though, Issei was partial to the idea that even if the wedding was forced through, douchebag might just meet with an unfortunate accident.

"Very well, I, Grayfia, have confirmed both sides opinion. I will be in charge of the game between the two households. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"I don't have a problem with that."

Grayfia bowed her head after confirming while Raiser took another look around the room and smirked. "Rias, would the ones here be all your servants?"

"So what if they are?" Rias asked in annoyance. Annoyance that increased as Raiser started laughing.

"Then this match will be a joke. Only your queen, the Priestess of Thunder can fight on par with my adorable servants." Raiser snapped his fingers and a magic-circle appeared on the floor. It had an emblem that Issei didn't recognise but supposed it belonged to whatever devil family douchebag was a part of. Then multiple shadows appeared from the circle.

"See this Rias? These are my cute servants." Fifteen devils stood around him. "Seven of you against sixteen of mine, hardly a contest I think. Why don't you just forfeit? It'll save us all time and effort."

Rias bit her lip in frustration, she could tell that the odds were against her, no matter how she looked at it, the numbers advantage Raiser had was pretty significant. It wouldn't be easy to overcome. Her reply was cut off by members of Raiser's peerage speaking up and complaining about Issei of all things.

"Gross."

"Raiser-sama, he's looking at us funny."

"This person is freaking me out."

Raiser grinned as he noted Issei staring at his girls with a complicated expression. "Don't say that my dears, looking up to their betters is what a lowly worm like him does after all. Come, let's show them how passionate we are."

Saying that, Raiser initiated a passionate kiss with one of them.

Rias sighed as she supposed Issei's perversion was acting up again while the more experienced members of her peerage didn't have much of a reaction. Haruna and Asia both had red faces from the display though. Issei's words however blew that notion out of the water and reminded her that she still had hope of victory.

"My apologies, I was just figuring out the best ways to kill you all, don't mind me."

"Eh? What the hell are you going on about you worm?"

Issei shrugged his shoulders as he gave his honest opinion, backed up by Sentinel's observations. "Right now, with the exception of you and that girl with the blond hair in drills, I'm leaning towards stabbing you all in the heart or shooting you all in the head… whichever suits me best."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"What? You want my opinion on how to kill you as well? Sorry, that's going to remain a secret for now, I can tell you that it will involve a lot of screaming. Oh, and one more thing, if you're gonna fool around with woman, do at least try to keep it discreet. It's one way to avoid having a certain something chopped off in your sleep."

Despite his ability to heal, Raiser actually shuddered at what Issei was insinuating. "A-and what's your point? I can heal from all wounds. Hmmph! You're just jealous that you can't have a harem."

Issei just deadpanned at his words. "You sure you should be proud of that? Being able to heal just means it can be chopped off multiple times." Raiser visibly paled at this statement. "As to having a harem… I won't deny I still find that concept attractive, but I've grown up, that notion is shelved for the time being. In any case, you're a dead man walking douchebag, I suggest you enjoy whatever little time you have left before I end your miserable existence."

"D-d-douchebag!? Y-you low class devil! How dare you speak to a high-class devil like that!? Rias! How have you been disciplining your servants!?"

Rias merely shrugged and looked away indifferently, in truth, she was trying her hardest not to laugh as Issei systematically destroyed Raiser's composure and image.

"Grrrr… Mira. Do it."

"Hai, Raiser-sama."

A small girl not much bigger than Koneko pulled out a bo staff and formed a battle stance after twirling the staff around. Jumping forwards, she sent Issei flying with one hit… well that was what she intended anyway.

Her staff was stopped by Issei calmly grabbing the weapon tip. She tried to shake it free only to find that she couldn't, her staff was stuck and refused to budge even when she pulled with all her might. She was sent flying when Issei released his grip abruptly with a sigh.

"Oh. So they can't attack me but I can't defend my comrades? What logic is this? Well, I retain the right to self-defence." Issei sighed once more and before anyone could stop him, warped right into the midst of Raiser's servants.

With a swift series of blows, he fell half of them before Grayfia's ice spikes stopped him yet again. "Again really? You don't move when they attack, but when I move you stop me. I'm starting to think that you shouldn't be in charge of the game since you don't appear to be impartial. Just saying." Issei escaped his ice spike prison by teleporting back to his original location. Grayfia's eyes twitched just a little at that insult.

"I understand that there is a saying that quantity has a quality all its own. But, if you're going to send weaklings against me like that, it won't matter if you send one or one thousand. They'll all just be cannon fodder. Seven against sixteen? Who are you trying to kid? Just me alone is more than your minions can handle. I mean come on, I wouldn't have broken a sweat against them even back when I was human."

"Grrrr…. You… you… Fine! On account of how the game is skewed in my favour…"

"You seriously still believe that? Whatever floats your boat."

"I will give your team ten days to prepare. I suggest you don't waste it Rias."

"You think we need a handicap after that? If you want the time to research a means of defeating my cute new pawn just say so. But fine, I accept. It will make crushing you all the sweeter." Rias easily saw through what Raiser was planning and called him out on it.

"Ten days? You a dead man boyo. I have four methods of killing you right now, three of which involve materials I do not currently possess. I assure you though, by the time ten days are up, they'll be ready and waiting for your blood."

Raiser refused to deign that with a response and merely snapped his fingers, disappearing in flames along with his peerage. Grayfia likewise vanished and that left the ORC alone in the room.

"Issei… can we win?" Once they were gone, Rias' confident façade crumbled instantly. Despite everything, their opponent was still a Phenex and his healing was a massive obstacle.

"Of course we can. With some planning and preparation their numbers can be countered. Guess it's time for some training."

-line break

Issei slowly trudged up the mountain while carrying a massive pack and two smaller ones. He was busy whistling a jaunty tune as he marched while Asia and Haruna walked alongside him, neither really capable of believing that he was capable of carrying a giant pack and their own at the same time. Heck, his pack was twice the size of Koneko's and he didn't seem to be bothered in the least.

Their destination was already in sight, a wooden mansion at the top of the mountain. As soon as they reached, the rest dumped their packs while Issei slowly began to undo the complex series of knots he'd used to secure his load.

Haruna tried to push up Issei's pack with her arms but failed, even a boost from Ddraig didn't make a difference. "Issei… what do you have in this bag… rocks?" On cue, the bag burst apart at the seams and a large pile of boulders rolled out.

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"…"

Issei merely shrugged as Haruna remained silent before using a pocket knife to cut away the rest of the ropes since they were no longer useful before placing Asia's and Haruna's packs on the floor.

As the rest of the peerage went off to change, Issei removed a half-finished silver dagger and sat on the couch while examining it.

'So there's still no way to make it last more than one hit? Not even with the bastardised version of reality warping from that accursed castle?'

 **[Negative colonel. Analysis of the blade indicates that it is still incomplete, its very existence should not be possible. Nogiel's instructions already allow for the manifestation of the impossible and the phantasm ability doesn't work on it.]**

'Still no data on where to get the remaining pieces either?'

 **[Affirmative, we have no way to track the remaining pieces if they still exist, nor do we have a means on identifying how many pieces there are.]**

'We'll just have to make do with what we have then.' Issei was drawn from his ruminations by Rias approach. She was carrying a stack of books and papers. "Here. These are everything we have on the house of Phenex. You think you can find a weakness?"

"I know I can. I already know of a few, just need to figure out the best way to exploit it."

" _THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! NOT EVEN A PHENEX CAN HEAL FROM A WOUND CAUSED BY A MURAMASA BLADE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"_ Issei smirked to himself as he recalled that little tidbit.

"A Phenex is a devil with similarities to the legendary immortal firebird as I recall, they possess natural mastery over fire and wind magic and their most prominent characteristic is their ability to heal from virtually any wound."

"A large obstacle."

"Is it? The answer is already there actually, he's a devil and he can heal. We happen to have an ex-nun available and I have contacts with the church, grabbing some light weapons and holy water won't be a problem I think. As to his healing, I do have a way of shutting it down although I'd prefer to keep that for a last resort."

Rias put her hands on her hips and stared at Issei after his nonchalant reply. "Are you saying we can win without a doubt?"

"Of course not. I still remember what happened the last time I was convinced of victory, Jibril's lesson is still fresh in my mind thank you very much. It's still a battle and anything can go wrong. Although, I am honestly more worried he'll find a way to take our members out one at a time or worse, hold them hostage."

"Hostage?"

"You care for your peerage, that much is obvious even to me. And, that is evidently how most Gremories are, what would you do if Raiser manages to capture… say Asia for instance and threaten to burn off her limbs one at a time until you surrender? It is perfectly within the rules and such a wound is unlikely to trigger the system's emergency teleport. You could try forcibly retiring her, but there's nothing stopping him from finishing her off while you're busy trying to do so."

"He can't. the system won't-"

"Won't allow it? Accidents happen all the time, it is entirely possible one or more combatants will suffer a fatal wound in the game, hell it is something I'm going to exploit to the fullest."

"Y-you would kill your opponents just to win?"

"Of course I would, depending on the stakes. You are my boss now so I guess I owe you enough loyalty to get you out of this marriage, if that means executing a few others I don't mind. My hands are stained with the blood of thousands already, a few more won't make a difference. To be frank, even if we did lose somehow and or the marriage is forced forward regardless of the result, I'm not above ensuring Raiser meets with an accident on his way to the wedding."

"…Remind me not to get on your bad side, and one day, you will have to fill me in on what exactly made you turn out this way." Rias finally managed to spit out after having her newest pawn so readily admit to be willing to assassinate a high-class devil just for her sake. It would be sort of romantic if it wasn't so morbid. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Train. I don't believe it's a stretch to say that I have the most live combat experience out of everyone here. I'll spar with everyone in the peerage one at a time to get a better feel for their strengths and weaknesses. As for Asia though, I think it's best to keep her in the rear and maybe teach her a few defensive spells or something. Lastly, we need to go over tactics, I expect Raiser to have some kind of ace up his sleeve and we should account for it."

"That's it?"

"That's all we can do for now. Oh, and I need a room to myself for my work. Any new equipment I can finish before the match is another card we have to play. That fine with you?"

Rias could only nod at Issei's words.

-line break

After a good night's rest, the first up to spar against Issei was Kiba. Picking up two shinai, Kiba tossed one to Issei. Plucking it out of the air, Issei swung it a few times before nodding and getting into a ready stance.

As soon as he did so, Kiba rushed him. Exchanging a furious series of blows, the round ended in Issei's victory as he threw a fistful of sand into Kiba's eyes and landed a blow while the blond haired knight was distracted.

"That was mean Ise-san." Kiba said through watery eyes as he continued to rub at his eyes.

Issei merely shrugged at the accusation. "Lesson one. Expect the unexpected, your opponents won't fight fair, I certainly won't and you shouldn't either."

"I am a knight of Rias Gremory, my actions reflect on her… dishonourable conduct is frowned upon."

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes in exasperation at Kiba's words. "Well that's just going to be a problem, isn't it? Can you live with yourself if your desire to hold on to honour at all costs results in Rias' defeat or the deaths of one of your comrades?"

Issei noted a slight flinch when he finished, a brief burst of grief and anger could be seen in Kiba's eyes, it faded away soon enough. Issei left it alone for the moment, clearly, he wasn't the only member of the peerage carrying some heavy baggage.

"Save the honour for duels, in battle anything goes and honour has no place in it. Now try again."

"Ahhhh… and I'm supposed to be the sempai too…" Kiba grit his teeth as he rushed Issei once more, this time being on the lookout for any underhanded moves. He still didn't feel right utilising less than honourable tactics to win, it went against everything his sensei taught him and his own creed.

This time he did better but still lost when Issei put on a sudden burst of speed and knocked the shinai out of his hands.

"Better but not there yet, you're still not playing dirty. But I suppose that's too much to ask of you at the moment, as long as you remain alert I'll count that as a win." Issei sighed as he continued poking holes in Kiba's tactics.

"There's still a problem though. You're a knight, a high speed close combat specialist, any battle you're involved in should end in an instant either in victory or defeat. Why are you dragging it out by reacting to me instead of acting?"

"…It is how my sensei taught me."

"Haaaaah… I won't challenge his teachings but there's a time and place for everything. Out on the field, you want to win as fast as possible before your opponent has the time to pull out some kind of trump card. I'm not saying to blindly rush in but do try to take the initiative more. On that note, your combat style is too reliant on finding patterns in your opponent's style and exploiting them."

"What's wrong with that? If I can identify their patterns, I can bring them down with minimal risk."

"That's hubris talking. I'll show you exactly why that's a bad idea. I'll be calling out my attacks now, dodge or block them and find a way to counterattack… Overhead swing." As soon as Issei finished speaking, he lashed out with a brutal overhead smash that Kiba just barely managed to block.

"Stab… left… right… overhead… stab… diagonal… diagonal… stab…" Issei's lightning fast strikes came at Kiba from all directions but always gave Kiba just enough time to react. While he was busy blocking, Kiba's mind was racing to figure out what Issei was trying to accomplish, eventually he figured out a pattern to the blows and he readied himself to parry.

"Left... right… overhead…"

"!" This was the chance Kiba had been waiting for, as soon as the blade came down, he'd be able to deflect it with the flat of his blade and launch a counter that Issei would not be able to dodge.

Only the blow never came, he was instead sent flying as Issei lashed out with a kick that caught him completely off guard. "N-no fair Issei… you lied."

"Yes. I lied. Now do you see the problem with searching for patterns, every now and then you'll run up against an opponent capable of faking his own style and drawing you in, just when you think you have it figured out and aim for the opening he deliberately left… I think you can fill in the rest yourself. Stand. We're trying this again."

"Hai Issei-san." Kiba rose to his feet and readied his shinai again, the fire of determination burning in his eyes. Perhaps there was some truth to what Issei was saying after all, his sensei wouldn't mind if he accepted another teacher temporarily he figured.

The clashing of wooden blades filled the morning air as the two continued their sparring.

-line break

Issei furrowed his brows in concentration as he tried to muster his demonic energy. Akeno stood silently behind him watching him try and fail.

"Ara ara, is our resident pervert having some problems? Fufufu."

"It… is slightly more difficult than I thought it'd be I'll admit."

"You gather the power by channelling the aura that naturally surrounds your body. Concentrate and feel for it."

"That's no problem, I've been doing that to suppress my own signature, but I can't seem to get it to flow where I want." Issei frowned as he stared as his hand, suppressing the aura came naturally to him but forcing it to do his bidding was a little bit harder than he expected.

"I did it!" Asia's excited shout left Issei's eye twitching as she grasped the concept naturally. Issei stared in envy as Asia held a small ball of green light between her glowing palms.

"Ara ara, so Asia-chan has talent in using demonic powers after all. You might want to work harder to catch up Ise-kun~" Akeno teased Issei, taking great enjoyment from the boy's minute twitches as he supressed his frustration.

Finally, Issei succeeded in forming a small ball of demonic energy between his palm, it was only slightly bigger than a grain of rice and would fizzle out every now and then but he still felt a sense of accomplishment. He was a man of science damnit, magic was not his forte.

"Fufufu, very well done. Now, let's change that demonic power into an element of your choosing. You do this by using your imagination. For beginners, it is easier to work with fire and water." Akeno lifted a water bottle and channelled her power into it, causing it to form a spike and rip the bottle apart from the inside.

"Asia-chan, I want you to try to replicate what I did. Ise-kun keep working on concentrating the power and getting it stable. The source of your power is your imagination, try to imagine what you want and will the power to make it happen. Maybe try visualising something you're familiar with, it might be easier that way."

'The power of imagination huh? Hmmm… something I'm familiar with…' a few perverted ideas popped into Issei's head at that. 'That could work… I'll try it out later. First something a little more _concrete.'_

Issei closed his eyes and concentrated on recalling everything he ever learnt about flying, both the theory and the stuff he picked up in the field. Mainly, he focused on the wind and its myriad patterns.

Both Asia and Akeno yelped in surprise when a massive gust sprung up around Issei, swirling around him and forming a miniature hurricane with him at the eye of the storm. The winds raged for a few seconds before dying off as quickly as it came as Issei released the breath he'd been holding.

"Ise-san that was…"

"I-Ise-kun… w-what was that?"

Issei opened his eyes and stared at his two dishevelled companions. "Proof of concept. I still don't really get the concentrating demonic power bit but I think I can get it to do what I need for now. It's not perfect but it will have to do."

Issei checked his watch before turning to Akeno. "I'd love to stick around and continue ironing out the kinks but I need to go spar with Koneko now. Haruna-nee should be replacing me soon. Have a nice day both of you." With that, Issei nodded once more and left to find Koneko.

-line break.

He found Koneko easily enough, the large trail of destruction and the flying tree that nearly took his head off clued him in.

Sidestepping another flying boulder, Issei came across a completely devastated clearing, a slightly winded Koneko stood in the centre of it, ready to uproot another tree with her enhanced strength.

"I don't know what this place did to you but it's suffered enough, don't you think so my dear Koneko-chan?"

"…"

"Silent treatment again Koneko-chan? How harsh." Issei stood several feet from her and raised his hands into a fighting stance. "No time to waste now, come at me."

"…" Koneko didn't say anything and immediately hurled the tree at Issei, forcing him to jump out of the way. As he was still in the air, she closed the distance and delivered a powerful punch that sent Issei flying. Not letting up she, continued the offensive a sent as many blows his way as possible.

Issei bobbed and weaved through the onslaught, taking note of several points along the way. His kouhai was a lot more willing to stoop to using tricks to win than Kiba and that was a plus in his books. She also knew a variety of martial arts which went well with her enhanced strength.

Defence wise, she had the high defence her rook piece afforded her and her petite stature made landing blows difficult, more pluses in his book. Hard to take down while capable of one hit K.O.s, not bad at all.

Issei returned a few punches whenever he saw an opening, but for the most part continued to dodge the attacks.

"Not bad at all Koneko-chan. That's enough for now." Issei said and Koneko halted her offensive, her expression never changing once.

"So… how do you think you did?"

"…I couldn't deal any significant damage." She clenched her fist and bowed her head slightly at this, the only sign of her frustration at not being able to best the pawn.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, you did good. Better than Kiba at any rate. I don't actually have much for you other than a few pointers."

"…"

"Okay… still the silent treatment, well… first off, aside from tossing stuff at me you lack any ranged capabilities. Second, you're too reliant on your defence to soak up damage, you take hits you don't have to simply because you can."

"…I am a rook. My purpose is to take hits. Buchou and Akeno-sempai can handle attacking from afar."

Issei shook his head and sighed. "Not like that. If your opponent was holding a crucifix in hand and you take his punch because you didn't know about it, it's going to hurt. And what happens if you get separated from Rias and Akeno? Your defence won't save you from everything and you have no means of striking at an enemy out of your range."

To prove his point, Issei flashed to the other side of the destroyed clearing and summoned a simple sniper rifle and put a bullet clean through the tree next to her, causing it to topple over.

"Case in point, I can teleport all over the place and shoot you with a gun, you have no means of catching up to me or taking me down from where you are, and if I shoot you enough times you will go down, super defence or not."

"…"

"Another thing, your speed needs work. I don't expect you to be as fast as Kiba but I expect you to be faster, at least fast enough so that enemy knights aren't able to run rings around you."

"…Understood."

-line break.

Issei had a complicated expression on his face as he evaded magic attacks from both Rias and Akeno at the same time. The evening sun was already setting behind him and this would be the last spar before dinner.

"Eh! Hit already!" Rias continuously fired off blasts with her power of destruction and Akeno supported that with lightning, neither of them having any success at hitting their elusive target.

"Is this it?" Issei asked in a monotone.

"Kuh! I'll show you!" Rias let loose with the largest blast she could muster and turned the area where Issei was standing into a smoking crater. "Eh? Where'd he go?"

The two of them looked around but weren't able to find Issei at all.

"This is very disappointing. I thought Kiba would need the most work but evidently I was wrong."

The duo spun round to see Issei perched atop a tree branch scowling down at them.

"Wha-what do you mean? Our attacks are nothing to laugh at."

"…Do you think this is a game?"

"…?"

"Tell me, is there a point in standing still and blasting your opponent with magic? You're a person not a gun turret so why the hell are you behaving as one?" Issei asked, disgust evident is his tone and both his sempais were taken aback by it.

"That is how wizard types fight Ise-kun. I don't see anything wrong with it."

"You really don't see anything wrong with it? Okay, let me put it in terms you can understand since you fail to see the obvious. By just standing there, you are essentially sitting ducks, good for target practice only."

"This is how everyone fights Issei, you're still a new devil so I don't expect you to understand it yet, but we have been taught by the greatest teachers and their teachings aren't wrong."

"Your teachings are wrong then, if everyone really fights like you do, I'm surprised wizard types haven't gone extinct yet."

Rias frowned at Issei's words. "Issei, I don't know what kind of training you've done in the past but this is how things are done. Wizard types stay in the back and attack with their spells, while knights and rooks stay in front to keep them safe. Maybe you disagree with such tactics but I ask you to at least respect my teachers."

"That tactic only works for large scale battles, wizard types are your artillery pieces while everyone else is your front line. Those tactics do not hold up when fighting as a squad or alone. If your lines are broken it's essentially over for you."

"NO IT ISN'T!"

"Oh but it is. Take the current scenario for instance. Say I'm an enemy here to take your head, at this point I've already slipped past Kiba and Koneko and you're all that's left." Issei pulled out a red marker from his sacred gear. "This maker will represent my blade, if it marks you at all it's a hit. I will now try to 'kill' you with it. Stop me if you can."

Issei slid off the branch he was seated on and engaged his optical camouflage as soon as he hit the dirt, vanishing from sight. Rias and Akeno stood back to back as they waited for an attack of some sort, arms glowing with power as they prepared to defend themselves.

They never got the chance.

The cold tip of the markers drew a thin red line on each of their throats and Issei reappeared behind them. "I just assassinated the both of you without any trouble at all. Still think your tactics hold up under pressure?"

"But that was because you went invisible, if we could see you coming-"

"You would still have died. And what makes you think your future opponents won't have some way of hiding their presence, I can say for sure that I am not the only person in the world with the ability to go invisible. It isn't even perfect either, that maid- Grayfia was it, was able to see through it without any trouble. You knew I was coming and you just stood there. Did it ever occur to you that you could fly away and carpet bomb the area? Or maybe split up so I have a harder time eliminating the both of you?"

"…" Neither Rias nor Akeno had a counter to that. In hindsight, standing by while being stalked by an invisible predator wasn't the best idea.

"I don't care if this is how every other peerage fights, why should you do the same, I am concerned with only two things, bringing everyone home alive and victory. The book can go screw itself. Now it's about time for dinner, I'll go help out in the kitchen, I suggest you both think about what I just said."

Issei turned and left the two in the field to think about his advice.

-line break

Night had fallen and most members of the Gremory peerage were asleep save two. Haruna hadn't been able to sleep and was on a walk about the mansion grounds when she heard the sound of machinery coming from one of the rooms.

Upon entering, she found her brother hard at work over several new pieces of equipment.

"Issei? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I could ask you the same." Issei replied without looking up once from his project. "I have work to do, sleep can wait. This project won't finish itself and we only have eight days left till the rating game."

"…Staying up so late isn't good for your health baka otouto. What are you working on anyway?" Haruna peeped over his shoulders at the unfinished work, for all intents and purposes it looked like nothing more than a half-finished badge.

"Nee-san… I'll be fine. As to what this is… I'm working on a prototype teleporter that will allow anyone who uses it to warp to a pre-determined location and escape from danger, that's the theory anyway."

"Like how you can vanish and reappear elsewhere with those blue sparks."

"Yes, well this thing should solve a few problems I have with the original though. For one the machine does the calculations for you so that's one less of a headache, hopefully one day I'll be able to use it to warp to multiple locations in succession."

"You can't do that? But your warping is always so fast." Haruna asked in confusion.

"It comes at a cost. Doing so puts massive strain on both my mind and body and I can only do it a maximum of four times before I'm out of commission, I've tried to reduce the delay between jumps but it's not working out yet." Issei spoke in a monotone while his tired eyes continued staring at his work. He was banking on this project being successful, it would deal with an issue that had plagued him for a long time. With the new phantasm upgrade to sentinel and a few notes he'd taken from Aurelius as payment, he should be close to a breakthrough.

"!" Haruna had not been expecting that answer. "If it hurts you then you shouldn't use that ability any more, I forbid it Issei."

"Relax Haruna-nee, I'm not a child anymore, haven't been one in a long time. All my abilities come at a cost, power doesn't come cheap after all, but I need that power. To fight and win, to protect everything I hold dear, so I don't lose anyone because of my own weakness ever again… and so no one I care for will have to go through what I did."

"…What… what exactly happened to you?" She could hear the anguish in his voice and was both curious and afraid to hear more.

"Two years ago, I got hit by a car, I should have died then but Sentinel found me. We fused into one being although the fusion was imperfect, I was… insane to say the least. At that time, I just wanted to absorb all sentient life for the knowledge their brains possess. Nogiel shishou stopped me, gave me purpose again. The world isn't a very nice place nee-san, evil exists everywhere you care to look, I had power, I tried to stop them…"

"…And?" Haruna hung on to Issei's every word, this was her chance to find out exactly how her innocent if perverted brother became the man he was today.

"Jibril had it right you know… I'm real tired of failing. I've lost count of how many times I arrived too late to do anything but put the victims out of their misery. You recall Gael? He was a normal human soldier once, until a bunch of psychopaths abducted and experimented on his unit, stripping them of their humanity. I couldn't do anything but kill those who had lost their minds in the process, the culprits escaped and continue to elude me to this day."

"…"

"My hands are stained with the blood of thousands, those I failed to save, those I had to put down. I am a monster nee-san… I couldn't even save the one person who looked up to me despite my mistakes."

"W-who was it?"

"A small boy named Roku I ran into during my travels, he was an orphan I found wandering lost on a battlefield. I saved him from being killed and pretty much adopted him as a younger brother since I couldn't just leave him there. You know… he was the one person who wasn't afraid of me even when I was standing atop a hill of corpses covered in the blood of the slain. He actually said I looked cool and was the best big brother he ever had… it was the first time anyone ever said that to me."

Issei put down his tools and a bitter smile slid across his face. "Because of my accursed perversion, I hesitated when I should have attacked just because the opponent had huge oppai… he died jumping in front of a surprise attack. To this date I still don't have a name on who did it, but I'll find her one day, and then justice will be done."

"Issei… it wasn't your fault." Haruna tried to console Issei and silently stood by when Issei brought both fists down on the table, scattering everything, his back shuddering as he tried to suppress his emotions.

"It was my fault Haruna-nee. My mistake cost me the one person who wasn't afraid of the monster I'd become. I've failed so many damned times I've lost count. Hahaha… and of course I failed to stop Jibril from killing you. My failure again…"

Issei's self-blame was cut off as Haruna abruptly spun him around to face her and slapped him. He silently reached up to feel his red cheek as Haruna admonished him.

"It wasn't your fault and stop thinking like that. No one could have predicted Jibril attacking me and I don't hold you accountable for that. You're a monster? Don't make me laugh boy, do I hate you? Does Asia hate you? I never met this Roku, but do you really think he'll blame you for what happened? You dishonour his memory by wallowing in guilt for something that wasn't even your fault. So you failed, everyone does, why don't you take a look at where you've succeeded instead. I'm still alive, so is Asia, you stopped Jibril's plans, thanks to your actions Kuoh still stands and no one died that day. Gael is also still among the living, do you think he would be if you hadn't come across him?"

"B-but-"

"No buts baka otouto. If you've failed do better next time, the Issei I know would never give up because he failed. He'd stand again and again and again until he succeeded. And you have friends now who can help you, I'm here, Asia's here, so are Rias and the rest, you don't have to carry everything by yourself anymore. Now come here."

Haruna stopped talking and simply hugged Issei to her chest, smiling softly when she felt warm tears flow down his cheeks. Her idiot brother was no longer trying to bottle everything up inside. "Just let it all out Issei, I won't tell the others about this, you can share it when you're ready."

"…Thank you nee-san."

-line break

"What do you think Issei, what are the odds." With one day left to the rating game, Rias had sought out her newest pawn for his opinion once everyone had gone to bed. Their training had progressed far better than she could have hoped for but she didn't know if it would be enough.

"We've improved, but I don't think it's enough to win in a straight fight. They still have more experience than us and outnumber us two to one. The prototype warp drives I handed out should increase our survivability. I don't know what kind of battle field they'll choose so I'm only able to set one warp point and that is wherever your set is. Asia and Haruna will be with you and any injured members can retreat for healing in an instant if necessary. I don't think I need to explain that that means you need to stay out of their reach."

"Hmmph I know that, I'm not an idiot you know."

"I am well aware of that, I'm more worried that douchebag will try something to lure you out. As the king if you fall its game over, and I can do nothing. Stay hidden and protected and we'll handle the rest. If anyone does make it past us, Haruna can use gift to increase your power to blow away your opponents."

Rias suppressed a giggle at Issei's nickname for Raiser. "What about his sister though, one more Phenex in the game might prove… troublesome."

"I have enough holy water and crucifixes stored away to slow her down, the only objective is the successful assassination of Raiser Phenex in the rating game. Dohnaseek should be arriving shortly with the Chikage, that will put him down, healing factor or not."

"…Issei, as much as I detest the guy, I'd appreciate if you not go around assassinating other high-class devils, we're an endangered species as it is."

"I make no promises Rias, we need to win and if winning means his death I am willing to accept it. The alternative would be to lose, you get forced into the marriage and I assassinate him anyway. One of those results in me being a criminal so you should be able to tell which of the two options I am more partial to."

"…Noted. How do you intend to deal with his peerage though, they haven't done anything to warrant being killed I think."

"Engage optical camouflage and slit their throats afterwards, the system will evacuate them in time for medical attention before they bleed out. And of course I have my new spell."

A displeased expression floated across her face at the mention of his spell. "You mean dress break, that vulgar skill? I thought you curtailed your perversion."

"hahahaha. I did, dress break is just the non-lethal incomplete version of the actual spell, in all honesty I'd rather not have to use the complete form since it tends to be… messy."

Raising one eyebrow at that, Rias decided to just let it slide. She didn't realise that Issei's new… skill was incomplete, she was curious but she supposed she see it in action come tomorrow.

"I will… trust you on that. You know, this is strange to say the least, when I was training, it was always up to me to plan the strategies for victory. This is the first time I'm having someone else do it for me, it is… refreshing."

"You learn something new every day buchou, it's late, you should get some sleep. I'll stay up a bit longer till my minion arrives. Just avoid being retired tomorrow and the game is ours, even if I were to fall in battle, I have made preparations to ensure Raiser's defeat."

"Very well then, good night Issei-kun."

"Good night to you too buchou."

* * *

Author's notes: Not much to say here other than food poisoning sucks, next chapter will be the rating game itself and Raiser gets his ass kicked. Kinda obvious actually now that I think about it. Ah well whatever, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

* * *

Omake: Issei's new brother

Issei sighed as he pulled his claws out of the nth mercenary's chest, the still beating heart clutched in his hands for a few seconds more before he squished it to a pulp. "It's a pity you fools die so easily, otherwise I'd have more satisfaction terminating you all."

Allowing the corpse to fall to the ground, Issei slowly revolved on the spot atop the mountain of corpses he created. No one else rushed him, and there was a distinct lack of screaming and gunfire.

He stood alone amidst a landscaped marred with countless craters, the plant and animal life long ago shredded to pieces. The sound of death hung over everything, complete and utter silence so complete it'd drive a man mad. Issei laughed at that thought, he was already insane so it hardly mattered, killing came so easily now and coming off the battle high he just wanted to find another war to jump into.

"Oh yeah! I am awesome! And… what's that noise." Issei's enhanced ears picked up the sound of shuffling feet, the silence wasn't completely total after all. A quick survey of the area found a small boy wandering alone at the edge of the battlefield, dressed in rags, he was blindly shuffling forwards and… about to walk straight into a mind field.

"Oh gimme a break." Issei leapt with inhuman strength towards the boy, hitting the ground sprinting, he had to stop the boy before he got himself killed. Coming to a stop right in front of the boy, he both cursed and thanked the stars when he felt a small click.

"That's far enough kiddo, just go back the way you came for a bit." As the boy numbly nodded his head and retreated, Issei sighed and summoned a wall of metal to surround him before lifting his leg. The ensuing blast shook him up slightly and left him missing a limb, moulding the metal wall into a replacement limb, he approached the young boy who stared up at him with eyes of wonder.

"You lost or something kid? Go home. Where are your parents, you shouldn't be out here."

"That… was COOL!" The boy completely ignored Issei's questions and started jumping up and down on the spot gushing about how amazing Issei was. "Answer the question kid, yes it is… cool, but I need you to tell me where your home is, you shouldn't be here."

"Ummm… I don't have a home, I don't have any parents either… I think. I can't remember anything, I just woke up it the forest over there." He pointed a distant tree line that had managed to survive the artillery shelling the place received earlier. "Then I just started walking towards here… it ummm… felt right."

Issei was in a rut, however much he loved carnage he had lines he wouldn't cross and leaving a child who reminded him so much of himself to die out here easily crossed all of them.

"Well that's just perfect, isn't it?" Issei scratched his head with his blood covered hands before coming to a decision. "Come on brat, let's get you somewhere safe where I can find somewhere to dump you off."

"…Awesome! Gee, you're nice mister."

"I am not nice, I am perfectly capable and willing to kill you if you get in my way." Issei reshaped his hands into claws again and stabbed them forwards, stopping just short of the kid's eyes. "Still think I'm a nice guy?"

"Yup! You're cool so you must be nice… can you show me how to turn your hands into claws?"

"Oh for the love of… I give up. Do whatever you want." Issei sighed and shook his head, he was too tired to be dealing with brats too dumb to comprehend death. "What's your name anyway kid."

"Ummm… my name's Roku! It's nice to meet you big brother!"

"Big- oh never mind, do what you want."

"Yay!"

With that, Issei's new self-proclaimed little brother started following behind him as he slowly made his way away from the battlefield.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 11** : Pawn takes king

The members of the ORC were assembled in their clubroom. Aside from Asia who was dressed in her nun attire, the rest were wearing their school uniforms while Issei had donned his white mask.

Kiba had donned gauntlets and greaves and was busy inspecting his swords. Koneko was seated on a chair reading a book while the king and queen were calmly drinking tea. Haruna was leaning against the wall fidgeting nervously while Asia sat next to Issei shaking slightly from anxiety.

In truth, Issei was the only one without any pre-mission jitters, compared to most of the battles he'd fought in in the past, the stakes were very low this time. Still, he was aware of how nervousness could compromise the mission.

"Relax Asia, we got this. We'll go out there and do our best, whatever happens it'll be alright."

"H-hai Ise-san." Asia nodded and her shaking ceased. Issei smiled to himself as he noticed the rest of the peerage calm down as well, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear did its job.

Ten minutes prior to the match, a magic circle appeared and Grayfia materialised in it. "Is everyone ready? The match is about to begin." Upon receiving nods of acknowledgment from everyone, she began to explain the rules of the game.

"Once the match begins, you will all be transported to the battlefield by this magic circle. Feel free to fight with all your power since the battle will take place in a pocket dimension. It is disposable so don't worry about collateral damage."

'hoh? Interesting, that puts the Shiva back on the table doesn't it. But damn what I wouldn't give to be able to create such a place of my own, the devils sure are something.'

Such a provision made sense to Issei, if they fought anywhere in the human world or hell, larger moves would be automatically barred due to the sheer devastation that could be caused. A disposable pocket dimension gave all parties free rein as long as no one had the bright idea to collapse the dimension.

"Say… buchou, where is the other bishop? Asia should be the second one, shouldn't she?"

Issei noted the sudden shift in atmosphere after he asked that, and Rias' mouth set into a grim line. "Unfortunately, due to some… circumstances, the other bishop can't participate in the game. I will explain it in the future, you don't have to worry about it for now."

"If you say so." Issei shrugged and accepted it, he wouldn't deny that he was curious but the bishops absence meant one less variable he had to account for and he was okay with that. He was distracted from his thoughts as Grayfia spoke up again.

"The rating game will be view by members of both households from a different location through a broadcast. Maou Lucifer-sama will also be viewing this battle, please do not forget it."

Issei's eyes twitched at that comment. 'Well this is just perfect isn't it… now more people get to see what I can do. Shit, Sentinel, remind me to do only the bare minimum needed to win, I don't need anyone piecing together my arsenal.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

"I see… so onii-sama is going to watch huh." Rias muttered under her breath.

"It's about time, will everyone please step into the circle. Also, once you are transported, there is no way back until the match is over or you are retired from the game."

As she finished, the magic circle expanded and changed from the Gremory sigil into an unfamiliar one and light enveloped the inhabitants of the room.

Once it faded, Grayfia was nowhere in sight and they were still standing in the clubroom. 'It failed? No that can't be right, I felt the displacement. Then-'

[Hello everyone, I am Grayfia, a maid from the house of Gremory and today I will be the arbiter of the rating game between the house of Gremory and the house of Phenex. In the name of my master Sirzechs Lucifer, I will be observing this match. By using both parties' opinions, the battlefield chosen is Kuoh academy, the school that Rias-sama attends in the human world. The battlefield is a perfect replica of the school]

'Well that explains everything… I wonder if they really did copy everything. If so… oooh idea.'

[Both teams have been transported to their respective bases. Rias-sama's base is the ORC clubroom in the old school building. Raiser-sama's base will be the student council room in the new building. For pawns to use promotion, please head to the enemy's base.]

"Alright, does everyone still have the transceiver I gave you all after I joined?" Issei waited until everyone nodded before continuing. "Good, communication is key here, they outnumber us two to one, it is paramount that we coordinate to prevent any of their forces from breaching our lines and taking out Rias."

[Now it is time for the battle to begin, the battle will continue for a maximum of six hours or dawn in the human world. With that, the game starts now.]

The ringing of the school bell reached their ears, signifying the start of the match.

-line break

Issei headed out alone while the rest remained behind in the clubroom. According to Rias, rating games rarely if ever became blitzes and both sides would use the start of the match to strategize before moving out. Unlike an actual battle, this was still a spectator sport after all, it was expected that both parties would use the battlefield to their own advantage instead of simply nuking everything in their path right at the beginning. Rias and company would stay behind to give the impression that they were sticking to the norm.

According to the data from Raiser's past matches, his strategy involved throwing his peerage at the enemy until they were all defeated and his opponent exhausted. Then he would personally go in and crush them with his power and ability to take any attack they could throw his way without damage.

This suited Issei just fine even if he detested this form of strategy with every fibre of his being. Raiser was the largest threat to the rest of the peerage and if started attacking as soon as the game began, Issei would be hard pressed to stop both him and the rest of his peerage from taking Rias out by weight of numbers alone.

While Rias and the rest remained behind to continue their strategizing, Issei had left first under the cover of his optical camouflage to carry out his own plans. He hadn't been expecting the battlefield to be the school grounds but this just made his life so much easier.

Moving swiftly, he headed straight for the gym to tamper with the environment. He didn't have a lot of time to sabotage everything and there were at least three key areas he needed to booby trap before the enemy started poking their noses into his business.

'Any sign of hostiles Sentinel?'

 **[Negative colonel, scans indicate sixteen heat signatures in the student council room and none in the surrounding areas.]**

'Good, good. Alright, the gym is secure, next up the pool.' Issei stealthily made his way over while keeping an eye open for any traps or possible ambushes. When nothing challenged him on his way over, he was starting to question if Raiser was an incompetent tactician to not send out scouts or simply underestimating them. Either way, Issei would make him pay for that mistake before the day was out.

Kneeling by the poolside, Issei retrieved a bag of bluish powder from his sacred gear and dumped the entire bag into the water, watching as it dissolved completely.

'Pool is trapped and ready, last the field. Don't think anyone's going to try charging across it but better safe than sorry. Plus… the battle might spill over to there later, no sense in not having a hidden ace.'

Once more he made his way over without any trouble. 'Alright sentinel, saturate the ground.'

 **[Colonel, that will leave us short on supplies for self-repair and weapon forging.]**

'Ah hell I knew I was forgetting something.' Issei cursed as he just recalled that he'd forgotten to resupply his supplies of scrap metal for Sentinel. After all, the replacement organs and weapons he could forge needed raw materials that had to come from somewhere.

'Change of plans then, scatter into a minefield. It won't cover as much as complete saturation but it'll have to be enough.'

 **[Understood colonel]**

From the soles of Issei's feet multiple strands of metal grew down into the ground. Burrowing below the surface of the field, they rapidly expanded into a web like pattern before becoming inert once the minefield was complete.

'Good. Any foreign signature dumb enough to step foot here gets a spike through them… I'd prefer if the coverage was better but I guess you can't have everything you wish for.'

 **[Colonel, the heat signatures in the student council room have begun moving. Four are headed for the gym and three for the forest. The rest are simply scattering outwards.]**

'Good. Kiba and Koneko have the forest covered, we'll head to the gym.'

-line break

[Issei, four of Raiser's servants are entering the gym now.]

"I see them. They won't be a problem for very much longer." Issei replied when Rias voice came over the comms, he was leaning against the gym wall, still cloaked and waiting for his victims."

"That's strange… shouldn't at least one of the Gremory servants be here by now? I don't believe they'll just give up the gym like that." The girl who attacked Issei with a bo staff ten days prior asked her companions.

'Hmmm… the twins are pawns, stick girl is also a pawn. And… little miss china dress is a rook if I recall. So, three pawns and a rook… not a bad haul.'

"Maybe they're hiding, waiting to ambush us."

"Cowards all of them. I just want to beat up that fool who dared to mock Raiser-sama, ambush or not I'll beat them all down." The rook spoke up in response and Issei just smirked. "Oh yes… do tell."

The four girls jumped into a fighting position with their backs to each other as Issei's disembodied voice rang out. "Come out and fight us coward. Your little tricks won't work on us."

"If you say so, I've been standing here since the beginning." The air around Issei rippled and he faded into view as he deactivated his invisibility.

"You bastard! Prepare to die!" The rook roared at Issei but otherwise didn't make a move.

"I prepare to die every time I step onto the battlefield, can you say the same?" Issei shrugged and summoned an umbrella of all things from his sacred gear. Opening it up, he held it overhead to the confusion of his opponents. None of them could conceive a reason why he would need an umbrella indoors, their confusion only grew as Issei pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

Issei took a puff and immediately started hacking and coughing as he wasn't used to it, the four girls just sweatdropped at that. "Okay… that burns. I don't get why some insist on a last smoke but I guess that's just their preference."

"So you accept defeat?" One of the twins asked in confusion.

"Oh no, this smoke isn't for me… it's for you." Issei flicked the still lit cigarette in their direction and grinned. The smoke from it reached the roof and triggered the sprinkler system, screams from the four followed shortly.

Issei closed his eyes and continued leaning against the wall as Raiser's servants continued screaming and writhing on the ground in agony. "Well, goodbye, I'll be sending the rest of your peerage to join you soon enough." Issei turned and left the gym, protected from the rain of holy water by his umbrella.

[Raiser Phenex's three pawns and one rook retires]

Grayfia's announcement left a smile on Issei's face and he went invisible again. "Buchou, targets have been eliminated, I'm moving to rendezvous with Koneko now."

[Good work Issei, do note the enemy queen is missing, take care not to get blown up.]

"Understood."

[Raiser Phenex's two pawns retires]

'That must be either Koneko or Kiba best to-' A massive explosion cut off his thoughts. 'Shit.'

Issei rushed towards the site of the blast, a large portion of the forest had been levelled completely and a wounded Koneko lay at ground zero. Most of her clothes had been blown off and charred skin was visible, Issei was relieved to see that she was still breathing though.

As he made his way forwards, his danger instinct warned off imminent danger and he flashed away seconds before his position was engulfed in a blaze of fire.

Reappearing off to the side, Issei looked up at his aggressors as he dashed towards Koneko's prone form. One woman dressed like a mage had her wings spread and was hovering overhead. Another dark-haired girl in a kimono floated besides her. 'Queen and bishop huh…'

"Your invisibility won't work against us pawn."

"Haaaah… getting real tired of people being able to see through it." Issei sighed.

"You came as expected, so predictable boy… your care for your comrades will be your downfall."

"I fail to see how that's the case. You think you're enough to stop me?"

"No, but I am." Issei coughed up blood as a blade sprouted from his chest, slowly he reached up towards it uncomprehendingly with bloody hands before looking back to see Koneko wielding the blade. He coughed up even more as Koneko twisted the blade and slowly sank to his knees.

Koneko's form rippled and was replaced with that of an enemy pawn. "Well done Marion, and now the foolish brat who dared to insult Raiser-sama will no longer be a problem. The holy sword retrieved from that stray exorcist came in handy after all."

"H-how…"

"Hmmph, for someone of Raiser-sama's stature, getting access to that foolish Gremory's reports was simple enough, I will admit some parts were beyond even his ability to access but we did get enough to know that you threatened to go stray if your comrades were ever harmed. Hmmph, it was child's play to set a trap knowing that. A simple illusion spell on of our own was enough to fool you, deception is an artform wouldn't you say?"

"S-shit!"

"Any last words before I blow you away?" Raiser's queen stared down at Issei imperiously and her arms glowed with power.

"Y-yeah, just o-one thing. True art is… AN EXPLOSION!"

"What!?"

The wounded Issei turned silver and detonated with incredible force, the blast engulfing Marion and sending Mihae and Yubelluna flying.

[Raiser Phenex's one pawn retires.]

Mihae and Yubelluna were crouched on the ground breathing hard as they tried to recover their senses from the blast, both of them growled as a perfectly unharmed Issei jumped out of the tree he was hiding in.

"H-how!?"

Issei gave the two a round of applause as he approached. "It was a very well thought out plan and in any other scenario it would have gotten me too. But you failed to account for one thing, I gave each of my comrades a marker that I can sense. Your little imposter didn't have it, and I still nearly fell for it. You should have held off from attacking, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed that she was missing it when I tried to warp to her location."

"A-and the bomb?"

"You're not the only one who knows how to disguise something ya know, the bomb was a little something one of my clients gave me as payment for a job." Issei was grateful for it but still cursed the day Aurelius was born for testing it out on him.

Issei reached into his jacket and whipped out a pistol and pointed it at Mihae. No Mistilteinn this time since he would respect Rias wishes as long as it cost no lives on his side. Without wasting any more time, he planted two rounds into the bishop, puncturing one of her lungs and her stomach, when he redirected his attention to Raiser's queen, she created a small explosion where she knelt and escaped while the smoke caused Issei's shots to go wide.

He cursed as the gun clicked empty and he didn't hear any of his shots connect, lowering the firearm, he watched as Mihae was enveloped in white light and retired from the game.

[Raiser Phenex's one bishop retired.]

"Buchou, I got one of the pawns and a bishop but the queen got away."

[That's fine, Akeno is going after her now. Koneko is in trouble and Kiba can't make it to her, hurry Issei.]

"Got it." Issei found Koneko's marker and immediately warped to it, he received a violent punch to the face from Raiser's remaining rook as soon as he materialised. Both Koneko and Isabella were surprised to see a masked man appear in a burst of blue sparks and take the hit meant for Koneko.

"Gah! And this is why I don't warp to people except in an emergency, shit that hurt." Issei rose to his feet after crashing through a tree, a long crack ran down his mask and it shattered into two halves. "Oooi… that was my favourite mask… ah well, this is why I keep spares."

Issei shrugged and pulled a new mask out from… somewhere… before placing it on his face.

'Two pawns… promoted to queen if I'm not mistaken, a knight with a bfs and a rook.' Issei gauged Koneko's condition out of the corner of his eyes, burn wounds and multiple cuts covered her body, one eye was already swollen shut, it was only due to her enhanced defence that she was still standing. She would be no help in this battle.

"Ah my dear Koneko-chan, you seem to be in a bit of trouble here, shall sempai give you some help?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Really? Silent treatment from everyone now? I'm starting to think you don't like me Koneko-chan." Issei's eye started twitching when all present continued staring at him in silence. "Haaah… tough crowd. Fall back Koneko-chan, I'll handle things here."

"…I can still fight."

"I wasn't asking my dear, you've done enough, return to Rias' side to get healed. She's not going to be happy if you get retired because you refuse to retreat, continuing to fight after you are no longer capable of doing so is not how you help her."

"…Fine." Koneko bowed her head to Issei's logic before triggering the device Issei handed out prior to the match and disappeared in a burst of sparks.

"What the!? Where'd she go? What trickery is this?" The knight returned to her fighting pose and challenged Issei. "Koneko-chan? She's undergoing strategic redeployment at the moment, I'm your opponent now."

Issei withdrew a vial of liquid and chucked it in their direction before shooting it with his pistol, causing holy water to fly everywhere. The devils shrieked when they were unlucky enough to be splashed by it.

"Holy water!? What kind of devil fights with holy water!?" the knight drew her zweihander and jumped at Issei while stabbing forwards.

"What can I say? I'm one of a kind." Issei joked as he backpedalled and continued firing his gun, the bullets bouncing harmlessly of the blade when the knight used it to parry the bullets. "Ya know, I really miss the days when deflecting bullets with a blade was just fiction."

Leaping onto the blade itself when he ran out of room to parry, he was met with a blast of fire from one of the promoted pawns. Upon dodging that, the rook emerged from under the fire blast with and uppercut. Just barely managing to block that, the last pawn leapt from behind and delivered a round house kick to his midsection, sending him flying yet again.

Managing to correct his fall mid-air, Issei landed on his feet before regarding his assailants with a modicum of respect. "That was impressive teamwork, it's rare that I see anything even coming close to that. Not too shabby at all."

"Heh, flattery will not save you pawn. Under Raiser-sama's leadership nothing is beyond us. You are his enemy and therefore you, will, fall." The rook uprooted a tree and tossed it at Issei who ducked under it only to be met with twin fire blasts from the side.

"Gah! What the hell is it with rooks and tossing trees, is it too much to ask for you to toss something else, damnit! If you're going to toss something why not toss money." Issei jumped away again as a zweihander descended on where he stood, threatening to split him in half if he didn't dodge.

"Got a real smart mouth eh? Stand still so I can cut you down."

"Nah not interested. I mean I could… but you'd have nightmares for a long time after that, trust me on this." Issei laughed as he jumped backwards again.

 **[Colonel, mine field is prepped and ready.]**

'Excellent, hold off- whoa! Hold off until all of them are in it. Yesh that was close.' Issei hid a smirk as he was just seconds away from leading the whole group into the booby-trapped field from earlier.

"Can't touch this, can't touch this lalalalala…HA HA I AM INVINCIBLE! INVINCIBLE!" Backflipping over another slash, Issei deliberately avoided dodging the rook's punch and allowed himself to be knocked back and landing in the centre of the field.

The four immediately surrounded him on all sides and readied their attacks as he rose to his feet.

"There's no escape." One of the pawns gloated to Issei only to be greeted by a cheerful "Yup!" from him.

"…It's a trap isn't it." The other pawn caught on and lowered her arms in submission, he'd played them like a damned fiddle from start to finish and she just realised her grievous error in underestimating him. She highly doubted she'd be able to escape even if she tried to fly away now. "Shuriya! What are you doing!?"

"It's called accepting the inevitable knight-chan." Issei spoke as he stomped his feet once and four metal spikes erupted from the ground near their feet, impaling the pawns and rook through the stomach. The knight only just barely avoided being skewered by sheer luck as she had turned back to Issei and thus the spike just grazed her side.

Siris just stared in horror as her comrades were enveloped in light and retired from the field. "w-w-wha? Grrrrr! You'll pay for that!" She charged Issei, great sword a swinging and deftly dodging any spikes that tried to skewer her with her enhanced speed and reflexes. Even if she would have to be retired for this, she swore she would cut the smug bastard down.

"Die!" She swung the blade down on Issei and was rewarded with a shower of red as he didn't even bother to dodge. Her blade split him almost all the way down the middle, stopping at his stomach, she… was not expecting this. She didn't mean to kill…

Her breath caught in her throat as Issei remained standing even with his two halves hanging off to the side, and… and… was he smiling at her?

She watched with horrified fascination as Issei's arms moved to the sides of his head and pushed the two halves back together, the cut healing as soon as the two parts made contact.

Siris let go of the sword and backed away slowly as Issei started tugging on her blade from the back, pulling himself further onto it until the guard was resting against his stomach. With one deep breath, he tugged the whole thing through his torso and opened up a large hole from which even more blood spilled. As the wound healed, Issei inspected the bloody sword and took a bite out of it before facing her once more, at this point she was about to faint on the spot.

"See, I told you if I stood still and let you cut me down you'd have nightmares… what? Did you think I was lying?" Issei smiled and his teeth looked far sharper than she remembered them to be. "Thanks for the meal by the way, this sword is made of some fine steel… but I'm still hungry, I haven't had raw flesh in a while, say… you wouldn't happen to know where I could find some… would you?"

Seeing the blood stained Issei advance on her with fangs bared and a very hungry look on his face was too much for her. With a loud shriek of fear, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fainted on the spot, disappearing into white light before she hit the ground.

"…That was easy." Issei's form rippled and the blood stains disappeared and he looked human once more. "I just love holograms, mix em with a bit of devil magic and voila! Instant nightmare. This whole power related to imagination stuff is more overpowered than I thought, wonder what else I can do with it."

[Raiser Phenex's two pawns, one rook and one knight retired. Rias Gremory's queen retired.]

Issei's mirth vanished as soon as the announcement ended. 'Akeno lost? Damn, that queen is more of a problem than I thought.'

[Issei, I assume you heard Grayfia?] Rias voice came over the comms. "Hai buchou."

[We've lost track of Yubelluna again, Koneko is still being healed and there's nothing more we can do for Akeno, I just wish she was able to teleport back before being retired.]

"You want me to hunt her down? I'll make her pay for Akeno with interest compounded in blood."

[No. As much as I want to defeat her for hurting Akeno, you're needed elsewhere right now. Kiba is facing both the last knight and the other Phenex, he can't win on his own, and since your strategy involves me staying put, you're the only one available to go to his aid.]

"Understood, I'm en route now." Issei felt for Kiba's marker and found that it was in motion and at high speeds too. '…Too fast for a lock, guess I'm going to have to leg it.'

Issei turned and sprinted in the direction that Kiba was headed in, keeping one eye open for any ambush from Raiser or his queen and making sure not to lose Kiba's location.

As it turned out, he needn't have bothered on both accounts, Yubelluna was a no show and Raiser was still MIA, a large trail of destruction marked Kiba's path for him to follow. Multiple trees had been either cut down or burned to cinders. Before long, he could hear voices coming from up ahead.

"What kind of a knight are you? Resorting to such dirty tricks to win… have you no honour? You're a disgrace to knights everywhere."

"A friend of mine once told me that honour is for duels, it has no place on the battlefield. If you find my actions disgraceful, I apologise, but I'm here to win and for that I need to defeat you by any means necessary."

"Kyaa!"

"Hmmph! How uncouth, throwing sand in your opponent's eyes, is this how the peerage of my Brother's fiancé fights?"

"I'm sorry for that. But I need to win at any cost."

Issei engaged his optical camouflage as he neared the battle, upon entering a clearing in what used to be a forest, Issei saw Raiser's last knight kneeling on the ground rubbing her eyes. The blond-haired bishop was attacking Kiba with fire and keeping him away until the knight recovered.

Kiba was being pressured by her relentless attacks and only the sword that allowed him to absorb flames kept him from being burnt.

"You are disgusting. For Raiser-sama's honour I will defeat yo-" The knight's speech was cut off by the feeling of cold steel running across her throat, opening up a crimson rent in the pale flesh. She fell forwards and vanished in burst of white light.

[Raiser Phenex's one knight retired.]

"What… Karlamine!" Ravel turned just in time to see her comrade disappear. Enraged, she unleashed a blast of flames around her, seeking to flush out the perpetrator. She grit her teeth as the air where Karlamine once stood rippled and a boy wearing a featureless white mask appeared.

"You. You're that new pawn of Rias Gremory. Why the mask? Are you too ashamed to show your face after acting like a coward?"

"Death is impersonal. It has no face and all are made equal before it, from the mightiest king to the lowest beggar, none are exempt. When you stare at my mask, you stare into oblivion for there is naught but a void awaiting you."

"Such hubris, you dare to claim to be death?"

"My actions speak for themselves I think, I've personally eliminated most of your peerage members. Now only the queen and you remain… I will rectify that immediately."

"Fool! I am a Phenex, the immortal firebird, I cannot die and you will learn the futility of your actions soon enough."

"…Then let's put your immortality to the test, shall we? Kiba, fall back for now, either join Rias or hunt down Yubelluna, the Phenex is a bad match up for you."

"Yeah I got it, thanks Ise-san, I'll leave things here in your care then." Kiba nodded to Issei and sprinted off into the woods. Ravel's attempt to stop him were met with Issei obstructing her path and any fireballs she sent after Kiba were blocked by large metal columns that burst from the ground before receding.

"I'm your opponent now, for Rias Gremory's ambition I will eliminate you."

Ravel clicked her teeth and sent a flock of birds made from fire at Issei, detonating them when they got close to him. Issei dodged each explosion by a hairsbreadth and closed the distance between them, in his left hand he held one of his holy daggers and the other a vial of holy water.

Ravel was a wizard type combatant and had next to zero ability in close quarters combat, seeing Issei charge her while avoiding her attacks caught her off guard. To stall his advance, she created a wall of white-hot fire in between them.

She was once more caught off guard when Issei ran through the wall instead of stopping, his clothes had melted and fused with his charred skin in places while the blank mask remained unmarred and his single-minded charge had not slowed in the least. Despite herself, a small twinge of fear settled in her heart, even if she wasn't very strong compared to her siblings, that fire was hot enough to seriously hurt even a high-class devil, for a pawn that hadn't even promoted yet to charge through it without being affected wasn't something she was expecting.

She spread her wings of fire and tried to take to the skies and put distance between them, a shattered vial of holy water came close to taking her down but her clothes sufficiently protected her. Fervently giving thanks to the maou for the idea to make them water proof, the holy water dripped harmless off her.

"…Those clothes are annoying but they will not save you from me."

"Bold words for a low-class devil. I am a member of the house of Phenex! We rule over fire and wind, your attacks will not reach me up here, sadly the same can't be said for you." Ravel unleashed a firestorm of epic proportions on Issei's positions, turning the entire forest to ash in an instant.

'That got him… what!?' Ravel was shocked to see Issei walk straight through the flames, his white mask almost silver in the firelight and reflecting the flames in them. His destroyed uniform had changed into the same black outfit he'd worn against Freed, this time with an additional long coat over it.

"Impressive display but ultimately futile. You may have dominion over fire but I do not recognise your claim to wind. The skies belong to me and you are not welcome in it." Ravel's first and only indication that something was about to go wrong was Issei's raising an open palm in her direction before squeezing it into a fist.

The next thing she knew was that she was being assaulted by gale force winds. She'd never had to deal with something like this in the past and was unable to compensate for the sudden shift. Knocked out of the sky, she crashed hard and when she tried to stand again, she found it getting harder and harder to breath. Her fire wings flickered and started to die in the vortex, belatedly she realised that Issei's attack was twofold, knock her out of the sky and then strip away her air supply.

"I have done my research on Phenexes, supposedly you can heal from any and all wounds as long as your will endures and the attack isn't a god class one. But tell me, what happens if you get killed by an attack that leaves no wounds on you? Like say, being suffocated."

Ravel's fear surged unchecked, Issei had hit on one of the Phenex clan's immortality weaknesses and there was no way for her to stop him. The vortex surrounding her was still sucking away the air and her wings had burnt up most of her oxygen supply, she wanted to scream but the air was already thin and doing so would just hasten her demise. Black spots clouded her vision as she stared up at the faceless aspect of death standing before her.

"It's just business, nothing personal. But relax, I won't kill you, I'll just have you lose consciousness and be retired from the game."

She wanted to say something, anything, but the words died in her throat as her vision darkened until the world lit up in a sea of fire. Gasping from the sudden blast of heat, she found herself able to breathe again.

"Get away from my sister you worm." Raiser Phenex had arrived and relief suffused her being as she stared at her brother's back.

"Finally here are you? Tired of hiding behind your peerage?"

"A filthy mongrel like you would never understand the nuances of strategy. It is a given that you send out a few pieces to find the weakness in an unknown target."

"And so you discarded your peerage as sacrificial pawns."

"It is what they're for, I'm enough to deal with any threat. They are unnecessary at this stage of the game. I never expected them to defeat you anyway."

"…Commanders like you make me sick. You disregard the safety of your subordinates, send them out knowing they'll lose and possibly die… and you do it all with a smile on your face. You are not fit to command."

"I am a high-class devil. This is my birth right, a low-class orphan like you has no place criticising me. As long as I win, their sacrifice will be worth it, they should be glad that their defeat brings me closer to victory."

"…Disgusting. The last general I met who had that attitude died screaming and my hands, it's time for a repeat performance." Issei narrowed his eyes at Raiser's nonchalant attitude towards his peerage members who had given their all for him.

"And what can you do weakling? I have your abilities all figured out now. You are a technique type that relies on stealth and tricks to take down your opponents because you lack strength of your own. Your ability to teleport around the place is your only strong point, I don't know why Rias would even want someone like you in her peerage."

'…Is he serious? I thought he ran through my files?'

 **[Body language and speech patterns indicate that he is colonel.]**

'Stop calling me that please and it was rhetorical.'

Unaware of Issei's thoughts, Raiser continued with his monologue. "You don't even have half the talent of your sister, at least the Sekiryuutei took up seven pawn pieces, you are only worth one. You know… she doesn't look half bad, maybe after I marry Rias I'll spend some time with her."

"I. Will. End. You."

"Hahahahha… no you won't. You've already lost. You raise a hand against me and your parents die."

"…"

"I have been stalling since the beginning, your weakness is your concern for those around you. You see, while you're stuck in here, I've already sent men to hold your precious family hostage, yield or they die." Raiser grinned maliciously after giving his ultimatum.

"…Ha…hhahahahahahhahahha! Hahahhahahaha!" Issei burst out laughing after hearing that to Raiser's confusion. "You would admit that out here? When this game is being viewed by both families and a maou? You are either very, very brave or very, very stupid."

"Victory is all that matters, the Gremory and the Phenex clan wish to see this marriage through, the means I use to achieve it hardly matter… especially when it only affects a worthless pawn like you."

"Stupid it is then. Your little master plan to deal with me is flawed on so many levels, unless you sent the entire underworld army, there is no way your little hit squad will succeed."

"Your parents are nothing but weak humans, they cannot win."

"You'd be surprised by just how much damage one _human_ can do. But the point is moot, _my_ men are guarding them, unless your assassins are capable of defeating a squad of fallen and half the church's bloodhound division and get past two of the most dangerous humans I know… you've sent them to their deaths."

"You expect me to believe you have command over both fallen and members of the church? How dumb do you think I am?" Raiser's incredulous question was answered by a fist to face that knocked him down. "Very dumb actually, to pick a fight with me of all people without making sure you know exactly what I'm capable of."

Issei reformed his gauntlet into his railgun and used his sacred gear's ability to fast charge it, unloading a round into the Phenex's face as soon as he stood up, blowing him into countless red chunks. As soon as a burst of flames nearby marked his return, Issei lobbed a holy water vial straight into it, causing it to burst within the devil and inflicting agony beyond anything Raiser had ever experienced.

Blasting the Phenex to pieces again with his railgun, he repeated the process again and again and again, forcing the devil backwards with every resurrection. "You know, I was intending to finish you off fast, but now that you've threatened my family I will make you suffer."

"GRRAAAAGGGHHHH!" Raiser roared in anger and sent white-hot flames Issei's way, seeking to burn everything to ash. "I AM A PHENEX! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!? BURN INTO NOTHING YOU FILTHY LOW-CLASS DEVIL!"

A shard of shrapnel flew towards him from the conflagration and a burst of blue sparks next to him caught his attention. Issei's palm grabbing his face was the next thing he felt and he felt himself being lifted off his feet and slammed downwards, striking the floor painfully.

Issei silently introduced the back of Raiser's head to a nearby rock repeatedly until it was fine powder before tossing him towards the school pool. The battered Phenex landed and took a moment to catch his breath before standing again.

"Y-YOU THINK THIS IS ENOUGH TO STOP ME!? I AM A PHENEX! I AM IMMORTAL!"

"I know. That's what I'm counting on. Please, try not to die so quickly, I won't gain enough satisfaction otherwise."

Issei hurled one of his holy daggers at Raiser who was still too dazed to dodge it. Embedding it in his arm, the dagger shattered and the devil dropped to his knees in pain as the holy element in it burned even as his healing factor tried to purge it.

"T-this is madness!"

"No. This is catharsis." Issei strode over to his kneeling opponent and delivered a single kick, sending the Phenex tumbling into the pool. As soon as he touched the water, it began to boil and his scream was lost in the frothing of water.

Issei huffed once before causing liquid metal to flow from his feet and into the water, some of it forming anchors to weigh Raiser down and the rest to form a complete cover for the pool and seal off his escape.

"W-what are you doing to my brother?" Ravel had been powerless to stop the beatdown her brother was receiving at the hands of Issei and could only follow behind the two.

"How to kill a Phenex for dummies. One, hit them with a god class attack. Two, hit them until they give up and don't rise anymore. Three, suffocate them." Ravel stepped back subconsciously at the reminder of what happened to her earlier. "Four and my personal favourite, drown em in a pool of holy water."

Ravel's eyes opened wide at Issei's words. "WHAT!? B-b-but that'll kill him! You can't do this!"

"Oh but I can ojou-chan. This is a rating game and anything goes. After all, there is a system in place to evacuate anyone who can't fight any more for medical aid… but if you're capable of healing from the wound, the battle continues. That little caveat was put in place just for people like you… how does it feel to have your greatest strength turned into your greatest weakness."

"You're a monster!"

"Never denied it. I live in a world of monsters, the only way to survive is to be the biggest, meanest and most terrifying one of them all. Try to remember, your pathetic brother wanted to hold my family hostage just to win, at least I don't drag the innocent into this."

Ravel summoned flames to her hands and prepared to fight against Issei once more. "R-release my brother and I won't hurt you." She didn't know what she could do against someone who evidently had a healing ability capable of rivalling hers but she'd be damned if she just stood by and allowed someone to torture her brother… even if he had it coming.

[Raiser Phenex's queen retires.]

"It's just you now. How do you intend to stop me?" Fear once more crept into her heart as she stared into Issei's featureless mask. Shaking her head, she suppressed it and glared at Issei with all the determination she could muster.

"I-I don't know what I can do to stop you, but I won't let you hurt him anymore." Gathering every bit of demonic power she had left in her, she focused everything she had into a single concentrated beam and engulfed Issei in it.

She kept it up for nearly ten seconds before she had to stop from exhaustion. "D-did I get him…no…" Her heart fell when a figure in silver armour walked out from the residual flames.

"Impressive, I actually felt that one. To be able to force me into assault mode… I guess high-class devils really are different from the rest. You should be proud." Armour glinting in the firelight, Issei's armoured form was a sight to behold and Ravel had nothing left to throw at him.

"J-just let my brother go… please. I'm begging you. I'll do whatever you want, j-just stop hurting him." Swallowing her pride, she knelt down and begged Issei.

"…Somehow having a girl beg me like that just rubs me the wrong way. Fine, I'll let him go, as long as he surrenders I won't hurt him anymore, you have my word." With a wave of his hand, Issei allowed the metal cover to break open and tendrils of metal tossed a badly burnt Raiser at Ravel's feet. Smoke continued to rise from his battered form as the remaining holy water boiled away.

"Yield Raiser. It's over, you've lost."

"Y-y-you… think this is… over? I-I… I haven't lost yet." Raiser gasped out in a raspy voice as his throat was still damaged by the holy water that had gone down it. Even with the incredible healing rate of a Phenex was slowed by damage caused by holy items.

"Brother! Please stop, you can't fight anymore!" Ravel's pleas fell on deaf ears as Raiser stood on shaky feet, determined to fight on, unable to accept defeat at the hands of a nobody.

"Be quiet Ravel, this damage is nothing, damage from holy water is less effective against high-class devils. This damage is nothing." The strength in Raiser's voice slowly returned as his rage and adrenaline strengthened his will to fight.

Issei shook his head in exasperation. 'Some people just don't know when to quit.' Holy water might not be that effective against a high-class devil but being forcefully submerged in a pool of it will cause serious damage all the same. It was the main reason why Issei had converted the pool instead of using the sprinklers again.

"Why throw away your life so recklessly Phenex?"

"Do you even understand what you're doing? This engagement is vital for the future of devil kind! A low-class devil like you has no right to interfere in it! A mongrel like you should just die!"

"You think I give a damn? As a pawn of Rias Gremory, it _is_ my right to interfere. You threaten my friends, you threaten my family, and you spit on my good will, if it wasn't for my promise to your sister I'd gut you where you stand."

"SILENCE! This is something that has been agreed upon by both families long before you even became a devil. She will marry me and that's the end of it! It is for the greater good! Her immature wishes mean nothing against the needs of devil kind."

Issei bowed his head and gave a low laugh at Raiser's vitriol. "Oh that is rich coming from you. Do you even hear the hypocrisy in your words? For the greater good my ass." Issei turned up the speakers of his suit to ensure everyone in the field would be able to hear it.

"YO! To the Gremory and Phenex bastards out there, I know you're watching and listening right now! And I am calling you out on your bullshit! For the greater good of devil kind? Just who the hell are you all trying to fool. You know and I know that you're doing this to consolidate power, to advance your own agenda, and like dear old Raiser here, you don't really give a damn who gets hurt in the process."

Issei swept his hands to gesture at his destroyed surroundings. "Just look around, how many of Raiser's peerage has already fallen in such a meaningless battle. Even if I don't care for them, I do feel sorry for them, they gave their lives for a commander who doesn't even respect them. They paid in blood for your ambitions while you all sit back, relax and enjoy a glass of wine. I will be most surprised if you even know the names of the fallen. Rias will not marry Raiser and that is final."

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE PHENEX AND GREMORY HOUSES! YOU ARE JUST A-"

"Shut. Up." Raiser was silenced by the sheer venom in those two words. "Insult them? I call em like I see em. For their own greed and selfishness, they engaged an innocent girl to a man unworthy of her and refused to even acknowledge her very valid concerns, just pushing the damned thing through without giving her a chance to get out."

"W-what are you talking about? That's what this rating game is for isn't it?" Ravel piped up nervously, she didn't understand what Issei was going on about.'

"Ah ignorance is bliss. Tell me ojou-chan, what exactly did you think the outcome of this match would be?"

"…"

"To settle the dispute with a rating game? Sure, why not. If both parties were more or less equal I wouldn't be this pissed… but are they? Let's see here shall we? In one corner, we have Raiser Phenex, a devil who's already participated in the official game ten times to date _and_ has a complete peerage who are all just as experienced. And in the other, we have Rias Gremory, a devil who isn't even old enough to take part in an official match, and her peerage? Even a blind man wouldn't call it complete. Shit. One of her bishops can't even take part in this game."

"…"

"It's a complete farce that's what it is. Rias was never meant to win this match, it was lost from the very beginning and everyone can see it, no need to lie. I mean what did anyone expect? That an inexperienced and incomplete peerage would be able to win against their exact opposite? And of course, there's the tiny caveat that even if Rias somehow manages to retire the entire enemy team, there happens to be two Phenexes here that she has no counter for. And you all have the guts to just sit back and watch like this is some kind of entertainment, if you get your kicks from seeing your daughter or future daughter in law getting destroyed by an impossible opponent, then you guys are sicker than I thought."

"But you won against us!"

"Yes… I won, emphasis on 'I'. All your planning failed to account for an unknown like me, none of you bastards expected Rias to be able to recruit someone capable of making the impossible possible now did you all."

"Heh, you overestimate yourself low-class trash, a mongrel like you shouldn't interfere in the affairs of your masters."

"If I'm a mongrel, that makes you dog food doesn't it? Hypocrisy disgusts me you know. You do as you please and no one bats and eye, Rias tries to take charge of her life and everyone loses their minds. So when you act on your greed and selfishness, it's for the greater good, but when she does it, she's being immature and needs to be humiliated to be taught a lesson… smells like bullshit doesn't it?"

Issei just threw his head back and laughed, his amplified voice carrying over the whole battlefield. "When I first became a devil, I was told that devils are creatures of desire, greed and selfishness is in their nature. I didn't really put much stock into it at the time since that does apply to most sentient races. But now I question that judgement, if devils really are completely selfish beings, then I can't fault you for being willing to screw everyone else over for your own gain. But then, Rias also has the right to screw your plans to achieve her own happiness."

"…"

"Well the point is moot. See, I really, really hate it when those with power abuse those without. You try to pull this crap again and I will find a way to stop you once more. As long as I stand I will never allow you to win, Rias will be free to make her own decisions, this I swear on my honour."

Raiser grit his teeth at Issei's declaration that he'd oppose him till the very end. It was unacceptable to him, having a low-class nobody humiliate him like this… it went beyond everything he'd been raised to believe.

With a bloodcurdling roar, he engulfed his right fist in the hottest fire he could muster and swung at Issei's face. His punch met Issei's visor and failed to do much else, fire hot enough to scorch a dragon's scales didn't even singe the armour.

Issei's backhand caught him off guard and sent him crashing through a wall. "That was weak compared to your sister's fire, didn't even tickle. My apologies ojou-chan, but since your brother refuses to surrender, I will have to beat him until he can no longer move."

The gem on Issei's silver gauntlet glowed and Issei retrieved a blood red Katana from it. As he gave a few experimental swings, Ravel paled upon feeling the evil aura emanating from the blade. She gulped as that sword was definitely a cursed demonic weapon, she could feel its bloodlust and it scared her greatly.

"So this is the complete form of the Chikage, Dohnaseek wasn't kidding when he said that it would try to drive me insane if I couldn't suppress the curse with holy power. No matter, it will serve my purpose." Issei turned to the struggling Raiser. "This is _the_ Muramasa blade, any cut from this will not heal unless I will it. I've been told that even a Phenex isn't immune to it, if you refuse to surrender, I intend to put that claim to the test."

"Y-you bastard! Don't be too full of yourself! I'm not afraid of some puny blade!"

"…Suit yourself." Igniting his boosters, Issei jetted forwards and thrust straight at Raiser's heart with his cursed sword. The Phenex still weakened from his holy water bath and disoriented from the backhand didn't have a chance to dodge.

STAB

Blood splattered Issei's visor as blade met flesh and flesh lost.

Raiser opened his eyes wide as blood dripped down his face.

"No!"

"S-sorry… b-but I can't let you h-hurt my brother."

Ravel coughed up copious amounts of blood as she gripped the sword stabbed through her chest with bloody hands. She collapsed to the ground convulsing once Issei pulled out the blade, blood continued to pour from the wound as she lay there.

"RAVEL! YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Raiser grabbed Ravel's shaking body and held her in his arms before screaming at Issei.

"I stabbed her in the heart. The wound is fatal unless I will otherwise, not even being retired will save her."

"I-I fe-feel numb. It's c-cold, s-so very cold."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!? JUST SPARE HER LIFE DAMNIT! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT!"

"Yield. And I will release the curse. Best hurry up Phenex, your sister doesn't have much time left."

"ALRIGHT! I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER! JUST HEAL HER ALREADY!"

"…I love it when a plan comes together."

"WHAT!?"

"Hahahahahah. I lied. Your sister's fine, I deactivated the curse as soon as I removed the blade, the blood isn't hers, it's mine."

"Eh?" Two simultaneous exclamations met his words.

"A little numbing agent and some excess blood to fake a mortal injury. Rias asked me not to kill any member of your peerage if I could help it, and I intend to follow those orders."

"Y-y-you think this is a joke!? IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"It was a lesson. Now do you realise just what you were trying to do when you tried to hold my parents hostage? Best learn how to be a better person Phenex, the next guy you try this on might not be so merciful."

Issei turned his back on the two and started to walk away.

"W-where do you think you're going? You're just going to leave like that?"

"Why not? The match is over. You've surrendered." The implications of his actions finally sank into Raiser's exhausted mind. Issei had played him completely from start to finish, not even his bluff about Issei's parents had worked and he'd been forced to yield with the very same strategy he'd used on him. Complete and total defeat.

"I… I… I lost… to a low-class devil." Raiser bowed his head in shame.

Issei looked back and decided to give him a few parting words. "One word of advice Phenex, you have very loyal subordinates, learn to treat them better or you'll find a knife in your back one day. If you do manage to grow up and stop being so immature, there may be hope for you yet. But if you ever threaten my family again, I will end you consequences be damned."

Raiser's eyes at Issei's words even as Grayfia's announcement came in.

[Raiser Phenex has resigned. Rias Gremory is the victor.]

* * *

Author notes: This was a fun chapter to write. I left a whole bunch of references in this chapter and if anyone manages to identify them all I will be most impressed.

* * *

Omake: Yubelluna's defeat

 **[Quit pacing around, worrying now will do no good.]**

'That's easier said than done Ddraig. My brother is out there fighting and I'm stuck in here waiting.' Haruna continued pacing around the ORC clubroom. Asia was busy healing Koneko and Rias was pouring over the map, deep in thought. Her inability to contribute anything at the moment left her ill at ease.

 **[He can take care of himself, he's arguably the strongest member of this peerage. Right now, your job is to remain here and keep an eye out for the enemy queen. She's the only one left.]**

'I know, I know, it's just… I wish I could do more. I can't fight like the rest nor can I heal like Asia.'

 **[You'll grow stronger with time. For now, you have ten boosts stored up, be prepared to use gift on Rias if the queen heads this way.]**

Haruna stared listlessly out the window. Her eyes shot open when she caught sight of Kiba leaping out onto the school field, followed by Raiser's queen.

Countless spikes shot up from the ground seeking to skewer the woman and Kiba was busy hurling swords from his sacred gear at her. Yubelluna for her part was dodging frantically and returning fire with her explosion spells.

Kiba was holding his own for the moment but it was just a matter of time before one of Yubelluna's explosions brought him down, his inexperience at dealing with an opponent capable of causing explosions to blossom virtually anywhere was showing.

Already he had several close calls, only his demonic blade Replenish Calm kept him standing by absorbing the fire.

Haruna was about to call for Rias when she spotted her chance. Several metal spikes had missed the queen but they had effectively blocked her path of retreat. Kiba's flying swords prevented her from going forwards for a few seconds.

Haruna dumped every scrap of power she had into her palm and summoned a ball of energy in it, she was not going to waste this opportunity.

"Here goes nothing… DRAGON SHOT!" Her cry attracted the attention of the other members in the room as a beam of red light fired from her hand.

Streaking towards Yubelluna at speeds too fast to dodge, she just managed to turn to face the oncoming attack before being engulfed in it.

Once the beam of light faded, she was nowhere to be seen.

[Raiser Phenex's queen retires.]

"I-I did it… I actually did it." A smile broke out on Haruna's face as her achievement registered.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 12** : First encounters

"No. I refuse."

"Oh come on Issei, just wear it!"

"This is cruel and unusual punishment buchou. If this is about Akeno being retired I already apologised!"

"For the love of… it's just a suit! What do you have against suits anyway?"

"It's hard to breathe in them and I look strange."

"…You will wear this and that's final. Now, I have to check up on the rest, when I come back, you'd better be wearing it… properly." Rias tossed the suit at Issei who caught it with a look of distaste on his face. Giving him a long stare as though challenging him to defy her, she spun on her feet and walked out of the room.

Issei stared down at the 'attire' he was supposed to be wearing and sighed heavily. 'Damnit, can't I at least wear something more comfortable before facing a firing squad?' Giving one last sigh, Issei grit his teeth and started to change.

-line break

"Hmmm… you clean up nicely, see it's not so bad, is it?"

"Buchou, I'm pretty sure the tie is trying to strangle me right now and I swear the suit is stiff enough to stand on its own if I just put it down."

"You exaggerate, now come on, wear a smile and go join the party."

"Why are we even having a party? More specifically, why must I be there?"

"Hmmph, my family already sent out the wedding invitations, even if the wedding is now cancelled, they can't scrap the event without losing face. So in their wisdom they decided to change it to celebrating my first victory instead."

Rias gave her pawn another hard stare. "And of course you were the star of the show… how can you not be there? It's not much of a stretch to say you won the match on your own. Everyone will want to see the legendary pawn who decimated an entire peerage and took out two high-class devils with barely any effort."

"…Buchou… I called out both families on their crap and I effectively humiliated Raiser. Sharing polite conversation with an enemy is one thing, this is something else entirely. Tonight will end in a bloodbath."

"Again you exaggerate Issei. Relax and enjoy the party, devil society isn't so… barbaric."

"Ok. Veiled insults and hidden threats then, standard politics… I think I prefer the bloodbath option. At least there people are honest about what they want to do to you."

"Aren't you overthinking things? In any case, my brother wishes to speak to you. Refusing an invitation from a maou isn't something you do."

"Haaah… I got it. I got it."

-line break

Issei silently stood leaning against the wall with a sour face while the 'party' continued in front of him. For the thousandth time that evening, he cursed Rias for forcing him to stay in this viper pit.

He was well aware of the pointed stares the other members of devil high-society were throwing his way. And thanks to his enhanced hearing, he could also hear the comments about him.

Most of them were the expected questions about who exactly this unknown standing against the wall was and which devil had brought this uncouth figure along. Issei gave thanks that he had the bright idea to disguise his face again, he didn't know if the party goers knew of his identity as Rias' new pawn yet but if they didn't, there was no sense in tipping them off.

At the very least no one seemed to have connected the mysterious pawn with the man loitering in the corner and that was perfect for him. The devils were far more forthcoming on their opinions about him when they didn't realise he was eavesdropping.

"So where is this… _pawn_ of Rias? I want to see what kind of a being she picked up would be able to beat the Phenex's entire peerage."

"Did you hear? They say the match was won singlehandedly by one pawn… and it wasn't the Sekiryuutei who did it!"

"Where is that upstart who dared disrupt a marriage between two noble houses? I will give him a piece of my mind yet."

"Who knows? I wonder what it'll take to get Rias to trade that pawn to me?"

"You actually want that upstart?"

"Any pawn worth only one piece capable of demolishing a Phenex is a major asset, if I can get him…"

"That pawn of the Gremory… didn't he cheat to defeat the Phenex?"

"Yeah! I heard he held the Phenex's sister hostage to get him to surrender."

"The bastard! How dare a low-class devil like him act so high and mighty."

"Did he? I thought he beat them with fair and square with strategy."

"We'll know soon enough, the match recording will be available in a day or two."

Variants of such conversations were taking place all over the ballroom. Issei merely snorted at some of the more pompous ones. They actually had the gall to believe that they would be able to control him… such hubris would be their downfall one day.

Deciding to ignore them for the time being, he kept one eye on the rest of his comrades. Kiba and Akeno were having no problems mingling with the crowd, each surrounded by prospective suitors. He wouldn't begrudge them that, Kiba wore his tuxedo well and Akeno looked stunning in her evening gown.

The ones he was more worried about were his sister and Asia, both of them had zero experience in such an environment and the attention they were getting was setting them ill at ease. Issei would have gone over to them but since they were sticking with Koneko, he supposed they would be alright. The emotionless girl was doing a good job of keeping any undesirables away from them.

If anything happened, he had a marker on both of them that he could warp to at a moment's notice. Sentinel was monitoring their emotional states and if anything happened he'd be there in a flash with guns out.

Issei scanned the room one more time, so far he hadn't seen any sign of Rias, her parents or her brother. The Phenex and his sister were likewise missing although he did see a few members of their peerage milling around the place.

'Devil first aid really is something huh? All of them are already on their feet and in perfect health.'

Issei felt an intense gaze upon him and he looked up to return the stare. 'Of course it's him… the one person in this room I have no confidence of beating.' Issei had already written off most of the beings in the room with him as cannon fodder… except for one particular individual.

Taller and more muscular than virtually everyone else in the room, he had black hair and purple eyes… and reminded him of Rias for some reason. His aura was suppressed like every other devil but the quality of his was vastly superior. Furthermore, while the rest were standing as they pleased and didn't have their guard up, his stance left zero openings for anyone to exploit and it was done naturally.

Issei didn't need to study the man to know that he was strong, his very being screamed power even if the rest of the room seemed to look down on him for some reason. Issei knew that he was outclassed, if this man tried to pick a fight, his best bet was to escape immediately.

'Sentinel, aside from the Mistilteinn at full power and the Shiva… do we have anything capable to taking him down?'

 **[Negative colonel. If target proves hostile, recommend immediate evacuation.]**

'Alright… let's see what he wants first shall we.' Issei nodded to the man as he approached.

"I expect you're my cousin's new pawn?"

"If that cousin happens to be Rias Gremory then yes." Issei answered evenly, prepared for a fight to break out at any instant. He was caught off guard when the man extended his hand for a shake.

"Well met, I'm Sairaorg Bael, the next head of the Bael family and Rias' cousin."

"Hyoudou Issei, just a pawn." Issei returned the handshake firmly.

"So you're responsible for getting my cousin out of that marriage. Well done."

"You… don't support it?"

Sairaorg grimaced as though he tasted something sour. "Of course I don't, Rias is my cousin and her happiness matters to me, if she did marry that Phenex… I might have to attend her funeral. But! Thanks to you I don't need to worry about that anymore since you went ahead and scrapped the engagement. I would have done it myself but my position prevents me from acting."

"You're welcome… I guess. I was just doing my job."

"Well good on you to help her out while doing so. I hear you called out both families for their greed and selfishness in the match too. It takes guts to make enemies out of two noble clans for her sake when you didn't have to."

"…"

"You have my respect for doing that in any case, but I must ask… why the disguise?"

Issei jerked his head in the direction of the crowd and gave a bitter smile at Sairaorg's question. "It's a snake pit out there and I have no intention of dealing with these vermin… no offense to you."

"None taken, I'd prefer not to deal with them either but my station doesn't afford me such luxury. When I do become maou all of this will change."

"Maou? Ambitious. I wish you the best of luck in that endeavour."

"And you? What do you aim for."

Issei was silent for a moment as he pondered that question. "That's hard to answer, I want a great many things… hmmm… to win."

"Eh?"

"I wish to win, and to never stop winning. Doesn't matter who my opponent is, I never want to lose again." Issei stated with determination.

"Hoh? That's no less ambitious a goal than mine, come a toast to the success of both our dreams." Sairaorg offered Issei a glass of wine that he graciously accepted. Clinking them together, they downed their drinks as a sign of mutual respect.

Issei's impression of Sairaorg was that of a man who would face the world head on, overcoming any challenge with his strength and will without stooping to deception. He could respect that.

Any further conversation between the two was cut off by the arrival of Rias Gremory and a crimson haired man who looked very similar to her. Rias herself was dressed in a crimson dress that matched her hair and her entrance drew the attention of everyone in the hall, Issei's included.

"And so, the victorious princess makes her appearance. Well done cousin."

What followed was several speeches by the maou and Rias about her first victory. Issei didn't stick around for the completion of it all, midway through the speeches, Grayfia had passed by and given him a set of directions to follow once Sirzechs had finished his speech.

Now he found himself seated in a small but cosy room opposite the maou, cold sweat dripped down his neck. The pressure the man before him was exuding was beyond insane, not even Jibril had such a presence.

It was hard to breathe and Issei felt as though there was a sword to his neck, his life would be lost if he made even a single misstep. Sentinel's calming presence was the only thing keeping him from a nervous breakdown now as he waited for Sirzechs to say something.

The man in question took his time to sip his tea before he addressed Issei. "So you're my sister's new pawn and the man responsible for breaking her engagement... you also happen to be the one responsible for the elimination of the shadow. Just who are you exactly."

"I am complicated. But for now, I am the pawn of Rias Gremory."

"An unknown like you hasn't appeared in a very long time. I did check into your history and to my surprise it came up blank, before you were adopted by the Hyoudous you didn't exist… and two years ago there was a mention of a car accident and subsequent disappearance of two months which I have no data about. And now, you've already disrupted the status quo multiple times."

"My apologies for that, I don't seek trouble but trouble has a habit of finding me." Issei gave a helpless smile as he answered truthfully.

"Be that as it may, it still leaves me with a problem. Your actions have made a lot of devils nervous… and there is the fact that you are known to have ties with both the church and the fallen, putting you in a very… strange position."

Sirzechs lowered his teacup as he mulled over the situation. "Thus far I have managed to suppress the information about your role in Jibril's demise, that cover won't hold forever though. More than a few of the noble families aren't pleased with your interference in a marriage vital to our kind as it is, once that information reaches them, they will be even less happy about you."

Issei shrugged at the maou's words, none of it was news to him. "I was expecting it already. As long as they don't try anything against me or those I care for I don't really care what they think. If they send assassins after my people though, I will see them exterminated."

"…You would admit that in front of me?" Sirzechs asked astonished by Issei's nonchalance. "I am maou and I have a duty to eliminate threats to my people. Do you believe that just because you are a member of my sister's peerage that makes you beyond my reach?"

"You have access to Rias' reports don't you? You should have been aware of my position long ago, I don't see the need to lie to your face when we both know any other answer I give is pure unadulterated bullshit."

A crimson aura started to form around the maou and the pressure on Issei increased to near unbearable levels. "And knowing that you still refuse to change your position? Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"I don't. If you want me dead, I will die. I just intend to make your victory as costly as possible."

"Oh? And what's stopping me from disintegrating you now before you have a chance to set your little traps?"

"You think I haven't? I have planted seven Shiva antimatter nukes around this building, all of them tied to my heartbeat. It stops and this place goes boom. I think you'll survive it on account of your power alone, but what about your guests?"

"You're bluffing. Your sister and that nun you care so much for are still here, you would never put them at risk."

"Damn right I wouldn't, you watched the match, you know I've given them the ability to teleport. I die, they leave and everyone else comes with me… including your sister. Go ahead, call my bluff, strike me down here… if you can afford to."

 **[Colonel, recommendation, evacuate and detonate nukes now.]**

'Not yet Sentinel. Let's see what he does first.' Issei grit his teeth as the pressure threatened to force him into unconsciousness. Sirzechs' killing intent spiked as soon as he mentioned that Rias wouldn't make it out and he was wondering if he should just take Sentinel's advice.

"You would hurt my sister just to get to me?" the crimson maou asked in a deceptively soft voice.

"Heh, isn't that what you're expecting me to deal with? Any assassin the devils send will go after the easy targets first, you really expect me to just sit by and do nothing just because they are in positions of power? Sorry, but that's not happening."

"…Hahahahhahahah! Well played Hyoudou Issei." The pressure Sirzechs had been emanating dropped to nil in an instant. "It was a test, you had the guts to insult my family and the Phenex over their actions, I wanted to see exactly how far your courage extends. People like you are a rare breed in this world, I will smooth things over with the other noble houses to the best of my ability and I just ask you not go around insulting every other noble house, it is fortunate the Gremories and the Phenexes are among the more forgiving of them, others are more than willing to declare a blood feud for lesser insults."

"…I will keep that in mind."

"Please do so, now I will need you to meet those Gremory and Phenex 'bastards' as you so eloquently addressed them as later. They do want to meet the man who personally destroyed their hard work at creating a marriage between their children."

Issei blinked in surprise at Sirzechs sudden change in tone and topic. "Personally destroyed? I don't know about that."

"Oh? You did retire most of Raiser's peerage and you were the one to force him to surrender. You won the otherwise unwinnable match for Rias, like you said, the match was obviously skewed in one sides favour."

"…I did say that didn't I, but you know I lied about that."

"Oh?"

"The match wasn't fixed against Rias… it was fixed against Raiser."

"…Care to explain Issei?"

"Once the match was over, I did notice that a few things didn't add up. Raiser had access to information about me by virtue of his status… yet all the important bits were missing. I don't believe that the two families would intentionally hide the truth from him so I can only expect that all of them are in the dark."

"I fail to see where this is going."

"It was in Rias _and_ Sona's reports that I was the man who brought down a cadre class fallen angel, yet the Phenex was unaware of this, just as he was unaware of my combat capabilities. Raiser may be a high-class devil but he is nothing compared to Jibril. Just on that fact alone, anyone would put the odds heavily in Rias favour just by virtue of my presence on her team. What's a high-class devil supposed to do against an opponent who took down an ultimate-class devil equivalent other than lose horribly."

"Interesting conjecture… continue."

"If the parties involved knew about my deeds, they would never have agreed to a rating game to settle the issue. They'd have pushed for a duel between the two kings instead, that way I have no chance to mess up their plans. Nobles they may be, I highly doubt they'd underestimate me badly enough to write my actions off as a fluke. Information about me may have been suppressed but I find it hard that they wouldn't be able to dig it up if they were actively looking for it."

"Go on…" Issei sent Sirzechs an annoyed glance as he wrapped up his analysis. "The only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that that someone else kept that knowledge from them to stack the odds in Rias' favour. The only person who would have both the ability and desire to do so is seated right in front of me… I really hate being used even if it turned out in my favour."

Issei received a round of applause from the maou at that. "Got it in one, very impressive. You're absolutely correct, I suppressed knowledge of your actions by editing the reports and not mentioning anything to the families. I was counting on you to win the match for Rias like you guessed, saved me the trouble of dealing with the issue myself."

Issei noticed the dark glint in Sirzechs eyes as he spoke. "You would have had the Phenex assassinated!?"

"If it came to that yes. Rias means far more to me than the machinations of the nobles. The houses could go extinct for all I care as long as Rias is safe and happy. Guess we're not so different in that regard, you would declare war on the world for your family and I'd do just the same."

Issei's opinion of the devil went up a notch after his admission.

"Tell me, you value peace do you not? If not for yourself, then for those you care for."

"I do. Too much blood has been shed already."

"You will get no argument from me there and that brings us to why I called you here. There are dark forces at work around the world, seeking to destabilise the peace we fought so hard to achieve for their own twisted ambitions. Jibril is but one of many and his colleagues and master are still at large."

"…Cypher?"

"So you do know of our mystery man."

"Only in passing, Jibril kept going on about how he was going to kill me for daring to stand in his master's way. I have it on good authority that Cypher is way beyond my ability to deal with at the moment so if you're asking me to go after him right now I will have to turn down that request."

Sirzechs shook his head at Issei's words. "I don't expect you to, at this moment we don't even know where he's hiding, heck we don't even have an actual name. But we cannot just allow his plans to continue unimpeded. I'd send my peerage out to deal with his operations but they are too few and too high profile, at this point Cypher is just a ghost story and I cannot divert the resources I wish to dealing with him."

"And what can I do that you can't?"

"It's quite simple really, right now you are still an unknown. To most of the supernatural world, you're invisible and just as much of an enigma as Cypher is. That gives you the freedom to act where I cannot."

"Black ops then."

"That is one way of putting it. Rias mentioned that you have a few fallen and werewolves loyal to you do you not?"

"So I do."

"This is my request, you continue to build up your forces, form your own army, your own faction. Grow strong enough to oppose Cypher, I will do everything I can to keep the heat off you for as long as I can. Anonymity is your biggest weapon against Cypher, grow as strong as you can as quickly as you can before the world takes notice. Can I count on you for that."

"…It was always my intention to oppose Cypher but I will not send my men into unwinnable situations. Their lives matter to me and I refuse to just waste them."

"That is alright. I don't expect you to send them to their deaths. Material supplies and intelligence will be supplied by me so you don't have to worry about that… can I count on your assistance for this?"

"Yes… just remember this maou-sama, if you burn me or my soldiers you'd best make sure I'm too dead to take revenge. Otherwise I will do everything in my power to make you pay."

-line break

Issei wore a blank face as he finally stood in front of the very people he'd denounced a few days prior. Two couples faced him, one a pair of blondes who bore resemblance to both Raiser and Ravel and the other a red-haired man and a brunette who looked startlingly like an older version of Rias.

"So this is my daughter's new pawn eh? You don't look like much." Rias' father broke the silence first after both sides continued staring at each other for several minutes without a sound.

"That is the idea, people tend to underestimate me that way."

"You are a strange devil. You aren't afraid to challenge those stronger than you?"

"Power isn't everything, I have brought down opponents that I should have no chance against many times in the past. I thought I already proved that in the rating game, I am physically weaker than most of the enemy peerage yet I defeated most of them with ease."

There was a slight twitch from the Phenexes at the mention of their son's humiliating defeat but otherwise they remained silent and allowed Zeoticus to continue speaking.

"How very interesting, and you fight with holy water and human weapons. Never before has a devil ever done something like this, furthermore, your strategies are… unorthodox to say the least. Care to share why that is so?"

"I may be new to the supernatural world but I've been in my fair share of fights against inhuman beings. For the foreseeable future at least I will continue to fight as a human."

"…"

"Humans are inherently squishy, doesn't take much to off one. Generally, any battle against something stronger than a human tends to go badly for the human side. Against some of the… things I've had to kill, any death count less than a thousand is considered a miracle. To survive, to win, to thrive, I've had to learn, to adapt, to evolve. I will exploit every advantage I have and hit my enemy at every one of its weak points to ensure the greatest chance of victory and that I survive my victory. Becoming a devil has changed nothing other than reorder my strengths and weaknesses."

"Even if it means using means others might find… reprehensible?"

"Like a devil using holy water to attack other devils? I'd do it as many times as I need and anyone who has an opinion can keep it to themselves. My only concerns are the safety of my comrades, victory and my own safety… in that order. I am more than willing to field weapons of mass destruction if it achieves my goals."

"How interesting, your… tactics aside, do you really have no regret tearing apart a marriage our two families have worked so hard for?"

"What do you think?"

"I guess you don't"

"I detest hypocrisy, if you're going to be selfish then your daughter has the right to be as well. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, I saved you all from tragedy."

"Care to elaborate? You grievously wounded more than half of my son's peerage, tried to drown him in holy water and you stabbed my daughter with a cursed blade. On top of that, the wedding he has been looking forwards to for so long has been ruined. How is this saving us from tragedy?" Lord Phenex interjected in an even tone.

"Alright, say I didn't interfere. What do you think would happen if I allowed my king to lose and get married to your son?"

"They would have married, our families would be closer and the future of our houses would be secured by the marriage and any children that come along."

"All I hear is how that benefits you, I guess that's the greed and selfishness of devils I've been hearing about. Did you ever consider what would have happened to Rias or were you too blinded by your perceived gains?"

The phenex had no counter for this and was rendered speechless for a few moments.

"W-well she would be happy in the end. A-after all, between our two houses, she would want for nothing."

"Except her freedom."

"…"

"How can someone so old be so naïve. Rias isn't even an adult by human standards, she's just a girl and all she wants is the right to self-determination. You would have denied her that, it seems that I know her better than all of you here despite only recently meeting her."

Issei directed a cold glare at each of them, scorching them with his ire.

"She has way too much pride and she is also extremely fragile at the same time. The marriage would have ended in tears. Either she'd run away forever or you'll be attending her funeral shortly after the marriage. You may think that she would come to love Raiser in the future but I highly doubt that, even if it was possible she has to survive up till that point."

"Rias… she wouldn't kill herself… w-would she?" Venelana asked with a quiver in her voice.

"If you had forced the marriage through and gave her no way out she would have, or she'd just hire someone to… deal with the problem. Either way the marriage would never work and it will end with one or both of them dead."

"And you thought that far ahead?"

"It would be irresponsible of me to do otherwise. I owe her a debt and I won't repay it by letting her down. If you still insist on this farce for some reason, know that I will oppose you to the end. Your eyes, they're the same ones that stare back at me in the mirror every morning. You've all lost someone close in the past, do you all really want to lose someone else again? For something so immaterial at that?"

Silence reigned supreme as the high-class devils processed Issei's words. They couldn't deny the logic in them and they had to face the possibility that they had made a mistake.

"Perhaps we did make a mistake after all… you are an interesting one, I never thought my daughter would pick up such an extraordinary pawn. I'd believed that it would be the Sekiryuutei to watch out for and in the end, you're the one who defied expectations."

"I am complicated, that's the best way I can put it."

"Complicated huh…" A strange look swept over Zeoticus and Venelana's face at that phrase. "You remind me of someone I used to know a long time ago… never mind, with someone like you serving as my daughter's pawn the underworld won't be boring anymore."

"I am still unhappy about what you did to my children but I guess absolving the marriage is for the best. I won't push the matter but I do hope you can do me a favour."

"If it is within reason."

"I want you to speak to my son. This defeat has hit him hard and he's been out of it since he returned. I will admit he's been… overconfident in the abilities of the Phenex and he needs to understand that it isn't enough all the time. Now that you've defeated him soundly, I hope you can speak with him about it, I have no wish to see him waste away because his spirit has been broken by one defeat."

"I will see what I can do."

-line break

"Have you come to gloat? Or are you here to make a fool of me again?"

"You did that yourself, but no, I'm here to check up on you."

"…I assume my parents asked you to." Raiser spat out the question bitterly.

"Yes. And how are you doing?"

"How do you think?" The venom in his words was palpable. "You crushed my entire peerage, humiliated me in front of my family, cost me my fiancé and since the recording will find its way to the public soon enough, destroyed my reputation as well. So just how the fuck do you think I'm doing right now?"

Issei didn't say anything but merely joined Raiser at the balcony overlooking the party going on below. Aside from the two, the area was deserted and the view of the surrounding forests and mountains beyond was magnificent.

"Well!?"

"…How is your peerage doing."

"They are recovering…"

"And?"

"And they fucking apologised for losing, for failing to stop you."

"So, how does that make you feel?"

"…Terrible. I did think about your words you know, how I was a bad commander and all. And yes, I did treat them all like shit, they were hurt because of me, their loss was my fault, and yet they're the ones apologising to me… it's a sick joke that's what it is."

"Hmmph. At least you can acknowledge your own mistakes. It's a start. What did you do next."

"I ran like a fucking coward, to hide here, alone. Until you showed up anyway. I don't have the right to face them right now. How can I?"

"By gritting your teeth and doing so. There's hope for you yet boy, you're not a complete lost cause. If you feel like shit for your actions, that's good, now go apologise to them, promise that you'll do better and actually mean it."

"Do you think they'll even believe me?" Raiser gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Any apology I make will be hollow. I am Raiser Phenex after all! King of bastards and all round monster."

"All apologies are hollow unless backed up with sincerity and action. You have to start somewhere after all, hiding solves nothing."

"How the fuck are you so wise anyway. Just who the hell are you?"

"I am complicated, and I learn from experience. So you made mistakes, big deal, we all do." Issei closed his eyes as he recalled the verbal lashing he received from his sister not too long ago.

"Your peerage members are still here aren't they? They were willing to fight and bleed for you, they put your happiness ahead of their own, if you choose to wallow in your own misery and self-pity you dishonour them more. Unlike me, you still have a chance to make it up to them, be a better person, one worthy of being their king."

"You think I can do it? Why are you being so nice anyway, I thought you hated me."

"I… believe in second chances. If someone like me was given one, there's no reason why you don't get another shot." Issei directed a haunted gaze towards Raiser. "I don't claim to know everything, but I do know this, you have a chance to make amends now, take it."

Issei jabbed a finger into Raiser's chest as he made his point. "Don't waste this opportunity. I would kill to be able to make amends, but the one I need to apologise to is too dead to receive my apology, all I can do now is live a life worthy of his memory. And hate you? I detest your actions, I detest that you were an asshole. But that's in the past now, the Raiser that stands before me today isn't the same one I crushed in the game, and the you of tomorrow will be different from the one today. How different? That's up to you."

Raiser's features settled into one of determination. "You have a point. But, how do I go about doing so? I've… never had to do anything like this before."

"How? One step at a time like everything else. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, you start by apologising for your mistakes, then you promise to do better, lastly, actually do so. I don't believe they'll hold it against you."

"Yes… I'll do my best in that."

"That's all I ask. And once you're done patching up your relationship with your subordinates, work on improving your grasp of strategy. I will welcome your challenge any time."

"Hahahaha… you know, you're not half bad. To become better than I was before… I will succeed, I will grow stronger and one day I will take you down."

"I will be waiting, just so you know, I don't intend to remain stationary. If you want to beat me you'd best work hard." Issei gave a small smile, his work here was done and he turned to leave. "One last word of advice, there is no shame in losing, you learn little from victory, much from defeat, a favourite proverb of mine. In all honesty, you never really stood a chance against me. If anyone mocks you for your loss, tell them you lost to the man who orchestrated the death of a cadre class fallen angel as a human. They'll stop laughing then."

Raiser's eyes widened at that tidbit. "You were the one who killed Jibril!? Hahahhahahha! Doesn't matter, I will catch up to you and then I will surpass you. Next time you see me, I'll have improved beyond your wildest imagination, just you wait and see shishou!"

"Shishou huh? Well I look forward to that. Good bye Raiser, enjoy the rest of your evening."

* * *

Author's notes: I don't know about this chapter, it didn't really flow for me when I was writing it, might go back and revise it in the future. So Issei starts to form his own group and Raiser gets out of his funk earlier than canon. He'll grow into a massive badass in the future since I based his growth of a certain legendary character well known for snapping fingers. Next chapter will be familiars and then on to Excalibur.

* * *

Omake: The big damn kiss

After being returned from the field, Issei met up with the rest of the peerage minus Akeno. Everyone was busy congratulating Issei who was feeling embarrassed now, everyone save Rias at least.

"So you crushed Raiser… well done."

"I uh… did… did I do something wrong?" Issei was clueless as to why Rias wasn't jumping for joy right now. A sharp glare directed his way froze him on the spot. "And you went on to insult my entire family."

"I uh… uh… it was a spur of the moment thing?"

*Glare*

"Uh… uh… uh… I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!" Issei bowed his head and started apologising profusely.

"Oh I'm not mad at you."

"Eh? You're not?"

"No." A large grin broke out on her face at this point. "You called them out on the very things I'd been trying to get across for so long and you broke the engagement for me."

"So… you're happy?" Issei asked cautiously.

"Hmmm… how's this for an answer?"

The next thing the brown-haired boy knew was that his king was had hugged him close and planted a full kiss on his lips. His eyes widened in shock before he just closed them to enjoy the moment.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 13** : Familiars

"Get a familiar he said, it'll be fun he said." Issei ducked behind cover as countless barbs embedded themselves in the rock he was hiding behind. "I am going to kill that bastard once I get out of here."

Issei stuck his rifle out from cover and squeezed the trigger, sending a burning hail of laser bolts downrange. He received a burst of angry chittering in response and swore when a barb pierced straight through the rock and just barely missed his head.

"This is bullshit, is there anything is this thrice-damned forest that isn't trying to kill me!?"

"I'M NOT DEAR FRIEND!"

"GAH! Stop doing that! I do not have time to deal with you right now, just keep your head down!" Issei pushed the blindfolded man's head down before a row of spikes punched through their rapidly dwindling cover.

"Grenade out." Issei cooked one of his few remaining explosives for a few seconds before tossing it over the rock. He waited for the loud bang and blast of heat before grabbing his companion and making a mad dash for the exit.

As the two successfully made it to the door, Issei used every last bit of strength available in his body to force the stone door shut. As he did so, he leaned back and slowly slid to the ground. Behind him, the barbs shattered harmlessly against the door and he had a moment to catch his breath.

"Wooo! That was fun… can we do it again? Can we, can we?"

Issei slammed the back of his head against the door repeatedly as his completely insane companion started to wear down what little remained of his patience. 'How the hell can my luck be this bad… and to think it started out so simple too."

-flashback

"Alright we're here, this is the familiar forest where the three of you will gain your new partners." Rias spoke cheerfully to her three newer peerage members. Haruna and Asia both had a look of awe on their faces as they stepped foot into a land straight out of a fantasy story.

Trees larger than any found in the human world towered over them, allowing very little light through their canopy. Glowing moss and fungus grew on them in places and provided additional light so the area wasn't completely shrouded in shadow. The place gave off a very magical feel and the two girls were enjoying it very much.

Issei on the other hand was more concerned with how many potential ambush points were scattered over the place, even if he could see in the dark as a devil, there were still plenty of blind spots for danger to lurk.

"Get daze!"

"What!?"

"Kyaa!"

"Kuh!"

The three new devils were startled by a sudden shout and Asia hid behind Issei's back immediately. Haruna summoned the boosted gear and Issei withdrew the Mistilteinn and pointed it at the perpetrator. "Who the hell are you!?"

"My name is Satooji of Madara Town! I'm a devil in training, aiming to become the Familiar Master!" The young man in rough clothes replied with a smile, not at all bothered by the gun in his face.

"Satooji-san, these are the three I spoke about. They're here for their familiars today." Rias pushed the gun barrel down and introduced the trio. "Relax Ise, he's here to help us."

"Hmm… a dull boy and two cute girls huh. Okay! Leave it to me! As long as I'm here any familiar will be no problem at all."

'…dull? Really?' Issei's thoughts must have shown on his face because Rias immediately spoke up. "Relax Ise, he's a professional… even if he has his… quirks."

"Now what type of familiars do you desire? A strong one, maybe something fast… or how about one filled with poison." Satooji pulled out a catalogue from and waved it in front of their faces excitedly. "Or how about this one? The Chaos Karma Dragon Tiamat, it's one of the dragon kings and said to be as strong as a maou. No one's caught her to date as to be expected of a legendary dragon!"

"…Yeah… how about something that won't kill us just by looking at us. I'm just searching for something with stealth capabilities, an infiltration and espionage type… a dragon king isn't exactly hard to miss. I'd like my familiar to be inconspicuous." Issei retorted while deadpanning.

"Hmmm… how about this one then? The hydra!" Satooji flashed an image of a multi-headed serpent with skulls around its illustration.

'…Maybe it's smaller in real life?'

"This one is truly amazing! Its poison is so lethal there isn't a devil alive that can survive it, on top of that it's immortal and will kill its master! Not to mention that it's also larger than most fully grown dragons. So? Amazing, isn't it… how about getting it?"

"…Do you even understand the meaning of the word inconspicuous? Buchou, can I kill him? I can kill him right?" Issei's eye was twitching and his finger was inching back towards the trigger. "Calm down Ise, a hydra isn't a bad choice you know… there should be one in the forest somewhere, we could get it by the end of today…"

Issei sweatdropped at his king's words. "Yeah well a hydra is more trouble than I care to deal with."

"Sheesh, this boy really has a lot of requests doesn't he. So what do you want?"

"…Weren't you listening? I just want something inconspicuous, and if you recommend me something worthless again so help me I will hurt you."

Satooji proceeded to go into a rant about how Issei didn't understand the intricacies of becoming a familiar master… something the boy had no interest in anyway, before lambasting him for having no sense of adventure. Issei's patience was being put to the test and he was about to give the crackpot a piece of his mind when Asia spoke up.

"Umm… I'd like a familiar that's small and cute too…"

"I don't mind one like that either." Haruna added in her two cents.

"Okay!"

And just like that Satooji agreed to their request to Issei's disbelief.

After a few false starts, Asia had acquired a sprite dragon as her familiar while Haruna had obtained a small white fox. Issei on the other hand was left empty handed since everything in the forest seemed to be doing its damnedest to either run from or kill him.

Both Rias and Satooji were at a loss for why this was the case. There had been many devils unable to get their familiar of choice but never once had everything been so hostile to one being, who for the life of him didn't even know why this was happening.

Issei was about ready to call it quits when the infernal hydra decided to show up and make his day worse.

To call it large would be an understatement, the beast was the size of a small mountain and had thirty blasted heads, all of them extremely hostile to the brown-haired boy.

"Well fuck me, this thing is gonna try and eat me, isn't it?" A deafening roar was his answer. "I'll take that as a yes. Sentinel, assault mode now!"

Donning his silver armour, Issei shot skywards even as the hydra started spitting venom in his direction. While he managed to dodge most of the poison, several droplets splattered onto his armour and started eating through the metal on contact.

 **[Colonel, hydra venom is highly corrosive, the titanium alloy armour will not last against it.]**

'Shit! Purge the damaged sections.' Issei's armour shed the still dissolving metal bits and repaired the damage with spare supplies even as he dodged the next salvo of acid spit.

Issei managed to avoid any further damage to himself by hiding behind the giant trees, wincing as the venom ate straight through the hardwoods and brought the ancient beings crashing to the ground.

Firing off a volley of missiles as soon as his friends were clear, he blanketed the hydra in explosions. He grinned when he saw green ichor splatter the surrounding trees through the smoke.

That smile instantly vanished when the smoke cleared. Sixty very angry heads glared back at him hissing and dripping venom all the way. "Oh… this just sucks."

-line break

'Sentinel. What the hell do the legends say about killing hydras again?' Issei was taking shelter in one of the last remaining trees in the clearing. Everything else had either been knocked over by the hydra's sheer bulk or melted down by venom from one of its three hundred heads.

 **[The heads are to be cut off and cauterised before a new one can grow.]**

'Well since napalm doesn't work on it I'm going to assume there's magic involved in the original story.'

 **[It would appear that way colonel.]**

Issei sighed before launching off the branch he was on as the super persistent predator found his location again. "Rias, how long until the magic circle is ready for transport? Short of nuking the entire forest, I don't have anything in my arsenal capable of stopping this thing… actually I can't even slow it down."

[Another fifteen minutes Ise, just hold on a bit longer, dealing with the magical interference caused by the hydra is a little more complicated than expected.]

"Got it! Where's Satooji anyway? Please tell me he has some way of stopping this thing." Issei asked even as he flew in a complex pattern around the hydra's many heads, doing his best to get the overgrown serpent to tie its own heads into a knot.

[Umm he says that there isn't one. This hydra is different from the regular ones and none of the standard tactics work against it. Only Tiamat can calm it down when it's on a rampage and we have no idea where the dragon king is right now. Just… try to keep the damage contained.]

"Haaah… will do." Issei sighed as he continued his aerial acrobatics. He sighed again when the knot he so painstakingly tied was rendered null and void by the hydra simply using its remaining heads to destroy the afflicted necks. And that left Issei facing off against nearly four hundred heads.

[Ise, Satooji says there's a network of unexplored tunnels and caverns below the forest, if you can destabilise the ground enough, it might collapse and drop the hydra.] Rias voice came through the comms once more and a grim smile slid across Issei's face as he attempted to do just that.

"On it, switching to bunker busters now." With a mental command, Issei switched his missile loadout and unleashed a rain of steel on the ground below. Each missile burrowed into the ground for a bit before going up in a massive explosion, causing a shockwave that Issei felt even in the air.

The hydra's roar of anguish was lost in the glorious sound of explosions and rumbling earth as the area was completely saturated with fire and smoke. The rumbling of earth grew into a thunderous roar as the ground was destabilised and opened up into a giant sinkhole.

Issei laughed as he caught sight of the hydra falling into the pit. "It worked. The hydra is on a one way trip down, I'm returning no-"

Issei was interrupted by a wave of energy blasting upwards from the pit. Caught off guard he was unable to avoid it and took the brunt of the blast head on. 'Okay… what was that? It didn't hurt… uh oh.'

Issei's helmet display started flickering and he belatedly realised his armour wasn't responding to his commands. Worse, his thrusters were sputtering and going offline one by one. "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the last of them failed and Issei dropped out of the sky, heading straight for the sinkhole he opened up.

[Ise? Issei? Come in… say something… ISSEI!]

A burst of static later and even the comms died on him. "SENTINEL, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

 **[Col…lin…inter…ed…syst…down…unknown…signa…]**

"SENTINEL!? WHAT THE CRAP!?" Issei grit his teeth and braced himself as best he could given that he was still falling headfirst and had no way of moving his limbs.

A burst of wind magic managed to slow his fall somewhat but he still hit the ground hard. Stars clouded his vision for an instant and Issei blinked away the spots in his eyes as he tried to rise. This time, the armour responded slightly, slowly liquefying and flowing back into its twice critical state.

Coughing from the dust that assailed his senses, Issei scrambled to his feet just in case the hydra was still alive and ready to make a meal out of him. After a few seconds of frantically looking around, Issei lowered his guard slightly when nothing jumped him.

He wasn't naïve enough to believe that the beast was dead but it didn't seem to be in the area… for now. Taking a moment to survey his surroundings in greater detail this time, Issei noted that this 'cavern' wasn't as unexplored as Satooji was making it out to be.

For one, there were doorways carved into the walls, some still had intact corridors beyond them while others had long since collapsed. 'Right… I'd explore them but I remember what happened the last time. Now, how do I get out of here?'

Issei tried to contact Sentinel and summon his armour again to no avail. When he tried to reach for the corner of his mind his partner usually occupied he was met with a veil of some sort. Static filled his mind and he found it impossible to concentrate when he tried to push through it.

Giving up temporarily, Issei forced down the worry in his heart and tried to summon his devil wings. He groaned in disappointment when they failed to manifest… in fact he wasn't able to reach for his magic at all. Trying to page Rias and the rest on his comms returned nothing but static.

Issei wasn't a fool, without Sentinel and his devil powers, he was practically human. One far stronger than average but human all the same. Right now, he was armed with a single pistol and several normal daggers he kept with him at all times… not exactly the equipment he'd prefer to use against supernatural threats.

"Guess I wait for rescue now." Issei craned his head upwards and frowned when he saw how far he'd fallen. "No way I'm climbing out of this hole."

A soft chittering noise reached Issei's ears and Issei turned towards the direction the noise came from. His face fell when he beheld an entire army of giant scorpions approaching him with stingers raised. "So much for waiting."

Issei turned and sprinted for the nearest open corridor just as the scorpions started firing their stingers at him. Issei suppressed a scream as one lucky barb scored a line down his cheek just as he ducked behind cover.

Turning behind to fire a few shots at them, he cursed when the bullets just bounced off their hardened exoskeletons in a shower of sparks.

Sprinting to the end of the corridor, he found that the passage had partially caved in, much of the corridor was impassable save a small opening at the top. Issei made a mad dash for the gap and squeezed through it just as the first of the scorpions reached him.

Issei continued crawling on his belly as the barbs impacted harmlessly against the stone and Issei hoped with all his being that whatever was on the other side of the rockfall was better than what he just left behind.

Finally, the crawl space opened up into what looked very much like a living room to Issei. Dropping down, he looked around dubiously, the area was lived in and if the still steaming plate of food on the table was any indication, its inhabitants were currently in. Four other passages were cut into the rock walls and all of them were lit by glowing crystals set into sconces.

Issei drew his pistol just to be on the safe side before reaching up to his cheek and wiping away the blood there. Issei winced as the pain registered again and he was slightly disturbed to find that the wound hadn't been repaired yet. Whatever had cut off his connection with Sentinel had jammed even not only his weapon forging but also his self-repair ability.

The sound of footsteps approaching from the rightmost passage drew Issei's attention and he dropped to one knee and raised his pistol in its direction. Issei held his breath as the footsteps grew closer and prepared to shoot as soon as any hostile so much as looked at him the wrong way.

"VISITOR!"

"GAH!" Issei nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice that suddenly came from his side, immediately bringing his firearm around, he was treated to the strange sight of a short blindfolded man wearing a large smile on his face standing next to him.

"HI FRIEND!"

"Wha!? W-who the heck are you and what are doing here?"

"I AM HOD AND I LIVE HERE SO HI FRIEND!"

"Okay, okay, I was just uh leaving. Uh no more shouting please." Issei winced from the volume and holstered his pistol. The strange man was perhaps a little insane but he hadn't shown any hostility despite the fact that Issei had pretty much broken into his home.

"Awww… leaving so soon? I don't get visitors often." The man's shoulders sagged for a moment before he perked up again. "I know, can Hod come with you? Hod promises he can help!"

Issei blinked once before running the idea through his head. This Hod, whoever he was he'd clearly been down here for a very long time and Issei was a complete stranger down here. Having a local who might be able to guide him to a safe way out wouldn't be so bad.

"Okay… but do you know a way back to the surface? And what the hell is this place anyway?"

"Hod knows, Hod knows. This used to be an army base during the great war and the way back is through the shatter spike caves… the Antares occupy that land. Hod doesn't like it there."

"Antares?"

"Mmmhmm. Big nasty scorpions that can shoot their pointy tails. I don't like them at all… but Hod will help friend if friend wants to go."

Issei's eye twitched a little at the mention of having to deal with more of those scorpions. "Thanks for the offer Hod-san, but I'll go on alone. I can't have you put yourself in danger for me."

"Nonsense, if friend needs help, Hod will help. Hod is strong, Hod won't be hurt."

Issei was silent for a bit before he relented. "Alright, but don't go taking risks just for me alright?"

"Yes! Yes! I understand, we'll get to the surface in no time! But friend will need new stuff first!" Hod cheerfully waddled off into one of the side passages while beckoning Issei to follow, somehow completely unimpeded by his blindfold.

Issei shrugged and followed suit, his jaw dropped when he saw what Hod led him to. "Whoa… what is this place? There are enough guns here to outfit an entire army." Instead of being another room carved into rock, he was led into a giant metal room, burnished metal walls reflected his image in them and countless weapon racks stood in neat rows.

"Oh? Friend likes? Hod calls this place armoury sixty, there was a name plate once but Hod broke it."

"Oh yes… I like… I like a lot." Issei could barely contain his glee as he swept his hungry gaze over the nigh endless rows of weapons. With Sentinel's cold logical voice cut off from him, more of his original personality could show. At heart, he was still a boy after all and what boy wouldn't be excited by new toys.

He was nearly salivating as he picked out a rifle to inspect. It was like nothing he'd ever handled in the past and a quick test fire of the weapon scorched a long line of holes into the targets set up at the end of the room.

"An actual laser weapon and not one of those cheap exorcist toys. Heheheheh… hahhahaha! Now if only I could have Sentinel absorb and mass produce this." While Issei was busy ruminating on his plans for advanced weaponry, he was caught off guard by Hod's voice booming from right next to him again.

"FRIEND SHOULD WEAR THIS!"

"GAH! Stop doing that!" Issei yelled in frustration as he looked up from the rifle and found Hod shoving a sleeveless coat at him. Taking it from his outstretched arms, Issei stared questioningly at the blindfolded man.

"Friend should wear this! It'll keep friend safe!"

"Okay…" Issei stared dubiously at the coat and shrugged before putting it on. As soon as he did so, a surge of energy filled the air around him before fading away. "Umm what was that supposed to- WHOA PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

Issei's words came too late as Hod pointed one of the rifles at him and squeezed the trigger. Instead of having multiple holes punched through his skin though, the light bolts impacted an invisible barrier and fizzled out.

"See? Friend safe. I knew friend would like it."

"…Energy shields… I have energy shields now… hahhahah…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Friend happy, Hod happy. Come come friend, we need to go soon. Shatter spike caves will close in thirty minutes."

"Hmm oh yeah… lemme just grab a few more things from here." Issei nodded before proceeding to stuff his pockets with as much goodies as he possibly could. Grabbing a pair of pistols just in case he lost his rifle, he filled out the rest of his loadout with grenades before following behind Hod.

-line break

"This is the shatter spike caves… bad things are inside. Friend must be careful… armour won't protect friend forever."

Issei nodded wordlessly as he stared grimly ahead. He could see why Hod had named it so, the caves weren't so much caves as they were massive maws punched into the earth itself. Countless stalactites and stalagmites hung from the ceiling or grew from the ground, curiously their tips had been completely sheared off at the same level… as though something massive had crashed through the place and shattered the spikes in the process.

A quick look behind him told him his escape route had been cut off. A wall of blue energy rose from the bottom of the chasm he'd just crossed all the way to the ceiling, anything unfortunate to touch it would be disintegrated immediately.

According to Hod, the barrier would be active in twelve hour cycles, either way he wasn't going back through the way he came.

"Got it, lead the way Hod." Issei readjusted his equipment for a more comfortable fit before following slowly behind the diminutive man. The two of them hugged the wall as they made their way around on a narrow ledge, a very long drop off behind them waiting for any misstep.

Issei was in no way reassured when he accidentally dislodged a rock with his foot and failed to hear it hit the bottom. 'Right. Deep dark bottomless abyss… let's not find out what's at the bottom… if there's a bottom. Damnit of all the times to lose my wings.'

The journey thus far had not been easy, he'd already been ambushed by the scorpions on three separate occasions, the only reason why they weren't mobbing him currently was that they were stuck on the other side of the barrier. And his luck once more failed him.

"Did… did it just get darker?" Issei blinked his eyes rapidly as he swore the area was getting dimer as the seconds passed despite a lack in change to the illumination provided by glowing crystals set into the rock. "Yes friend, that would be the shriekers."

"The what?"

"Shriekers. Nasty stuff, they suck the light out of a place and knock their prey off ledges with their screams before eating their remains at the bottom."

"Ledges… wonderful… I expect they'll be coming for us now?"

"Hehehehe. Friend is smart."

"Shit." True to their name, Issei heard them long before he saw them. Countless soul rending screeches that seemed to tear at his spirit came from above and when his foes finally came into sight, Issei cursed his ability to see in the dark.

A bat like figure whose form was made almost entirely out of smoke and shadows swooped down at the duo, glowing red eyes devoid of mercy stared back and its mouth was filled with endless rows of sharp teeth. Easily the size of a lion, Issei and Hod flattened themselves against the wall and just barely avoided the initial dive.

As they double timed it towards the end of the ledge and on to solid ground, Issei raised his rifle and fired at the shrieker, frowning when the bolts were absorbed without any apparent damage to the beast. "Ah that won't work friend, shrieker eats light, light weapons just feed it… makes it stronger it does."

Issei winced as another screech assaulted his ears before lowering his weapon. He was nearly knocked off his perch when the shrieker came round and fired off a sonic scream that physically hurt. The force of it ripped his fingers from their handholds and only timely intervention from Hod kept him from a premature end.

"Thanks… any idea on how to kill it?"

"This one isn't solid yet. It needs to feed more before it becomes corporeal, otherwise nothing can hurt it." Hod shook his head at Issei's question before returning his attention to avoiding any missteps. Issei narrowed his eyes and squinted at the shrieker, true enough its form was slightly more solid now.

Ducking under a shower of debris as its sonic scream shattered an overhang above them, Issei grit his teeth and decided to risk everything on one gamble. "This is either the best damn plan ever or the worst."

Drawing his rifle again, Issei directed a continuous stream of fire towards the creature, as it dived towards them, it almost seemed to be smiling as its prey continued to feed it delicious light.

"Aieee! Friend, what are you doing!? Shrieker is growing stronger now!" Hod exclaimed in a panic as the creature's sonic scream was getting louder and more damaging, the cliff side wouldn't last much longer under the onslaught before it crumbled and took the both of them with it.

"I know. That's what I'm counting on." Issei regained his balance and returned fire, again peppering the shrieker with light bolts and causing its form to grow more solid in the process. "This'll have to do… here goes nothing."

As the shrieker made another pass, Issei took a deep breath before leaping off the ledge and onto the beast. He grinned when he found purchase and delighted in the squawk of surprise he received.

Climbing onto its back, Issei drew a knife with his empty hand and started stabbing furiously at the shrieker. Each strike opening up holes that bled a black wisp like substance. It bucked and thrashed around trying to rid itself of its killer.

Issei clung on for dear life and continued stabbing as best he could while doing his best to steer the beast towards his destination. When they hit the ground, Issei was thrown free despite his grip and landed hard. He simply lay there gasping for breath before turning his head slightly to see the mortally wounded shrieker flail around on broken wings before tumbling over the edge into the abyss far below.

'Y-yeah I think that did it. Now just to rest for a bit.'

"WHOOO! FRIEND ACTUALLY KILLED THE SHRIEKER!"

"Gah! Stop doing that! Will it kill you to not sneak up on me!?" Issei had barely closed his eyes before he was rudely jolted awake by Hod's exuberance.

"BUT FRIEND WAS AWESOME! Oh, and we should leave soon, the Antares are on their way."

"Haaah… of course they are." Issei rose to his feet and ignored his aching body as he followed behind Hod, hoping to avoid any further encounters with those accursed scorpions but not really believing in that possibility.

-flashback end

Issei sighed once more as he tried to catch his breath before the next part of the inevitable gauntlet. Sentinel was still offline, he had no way to communicate with Rias and his devil powers were likewise inaccessible.

"Okay… two grenades left, guns are still in working condition and only one dagger for a melee. Why the hell is everything so determined to kill me anyway? What the hell did I do to this forest."

"It's not what you did dear friend, it's what's in you." Hod said sagely before pointing at Issei's left arm. "…My sacred gear?"

"What's inside it to be precise. Even I can feel it, Hod knows it doesn't belong here. That's why everything wants to get rid of it. It's too similar to the 'source'"

"The 'source'?"

"You'll see it soon friend. It's on the other side of this complex. Maybe friend can deal with it? Hod doesn't know, I only know that it drives everything insane."

"That's… encouraging." Issei muttered before pulling himself up and preparing to face whatever was lurking deeper within the stone compound. Rifle at the ready, Issei made his way deeper into the labyrinth, Hod was uncharacteristically silent the whole time, his expression seemed torn between anticipation and worry.

Their footsteps echoed along the empty hallways and Issei noticed countless passages branching off from time to time. He would have loved to find out what lay at the end of them but he was on a schedule at the moment and short on manpower. Their journey continued on an upwards trend and Hod's pace hastened as they neared their destination.

Strangely though, nothing jumped out of the shadows at him and he found the quiet disconcerting. With Hod completely silent and the only sound coming from their footsteps, it gave the place an eerie feel that was affecting Issei slightly.

it wasn't long before Issei heard chittering coming from a passage up ahead and despite the fact that it meant an imminent firefight he was glad for a return to more familiar ground. "Friend be careful, monsters ahead. Not like the rest."

"…Understood. I'll be care-" His words were abruptly cut off as a large silver spike pierced straight through the stone wall and punched clean through his shields before continuing through the wall behind him. Issei immediately scrambled backwards as more spikes followed the first, all narrowly missing his head. They only stopped once Issei had backed up all the way to the end of the passage.

"See. Dangerous." Hod chimed in helpfully as the spikes just passed overhead due to his short stature. "YEAH! NEXT TIME MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY CAN SEE AND SHOOT THROUGH WALLS FIRST!"

Issei crouched low and slowly made his way back, he held his rifle upwards at an angle, if any spike came flying, it would hit the weapon first and hopefully be deflected enough that it wouldn't take his head with it.

This time though, the spikes just passed overhead, whatever was shooting at him couldn't aim lower evidently. Still maintaining his guard, Issei successfully made it to the end of the passage without being skewered.

Withdrawing a small mirror he fixed it to the end of his rifle with a bit of string and stuck it out. His face fell when he got a good look at what he had to deal with. Those same scorpions that had hounded him for such a long time were once more obstructing his path, except these ones were different, mutated.

They had been converted to biomechanical beings, half of their body was still flesh and blood while the rest of it had been converted into silver metal… the same silver metal that he associated with Sentinel. Their barbs had been completely metallized and were far larger than normal, he figured that was what gave them such incredible stopping power.

"…Why couldn't it be normal Antares? At least there it takes three hits before my shield breaks." Issei consoled himself with the fact that due to their elevated position, they couldn't hit him unless he stood up or made his way forwards. The fact that they were melded with the walls and incapable of movement helped him out in that regard.

"Sucks to be them." Issei aimed his gun from their blind spot and opened fire, peppering the twisted fiends with a hail of burning light. Any shot that connected with the metal parts was rendered useless by the very same self-repair function Issei used as the wounds disappeared within seconds. Damage to the biological bits lasted slightly longer but eventually they too healed.

"Any ideas?"

"Hod usually blinds them with smoke first. Then Hod shoots them in the tail. After that I just run like hell for the exit."

Issei blinked once at that solution. 'Why not? don't really need to blow everything up all the time. One grenade should stun them long enough… here goes nothing.'

Priming and tossing his second to last explosive, Issei waited for the detonation and the corridor to be filled with fire and smoke before aiming for the tails as best he could and opened fire on them while running.

Issei reached the end before realizing he'd made a serious tactical error. He'd been so worried about the stingers that he completely neglected the claws that were still free to swing about. One claw grazed his side, instantly shattering his shields and opening up a large wound, to compound problems, some of that silver metal leaked into his wound from the claw.

He gasped in pain as he could feel the metal try to take him over from the inside, unlike his bond with Sentinel, he had no control over this new parasite and no way of stopping it. he dropped to his knees as his vision swam and only barely noticed that the entire room he was in was constructed of metal and Hod was approaching with a melancholic expression.

"Friend is infected. Friend must make it to the 'source' before infection takes root."

"Y-yeah, w-where is it?"

"Just through those doors. Hod cannot follow, if friend makes it out, I will see you then."

Issei staggered towards the doors that Hod pointed out. Twin giant metal doors that had been bent and ruptured as though something had ripped its way out from them. His vision blurred as crystals started to form from his wound, stemming the bleeding but numbing everything.

He coughed up blood as he made his way deeper into the structure. Past the doors was a single raised pedestal, atop which sat a glowing orb. Reaching for it, Issei's body continued to deteriorate and he collapsed just inches away from it. Still reaching out to the object, his vision darkened completely and he lost consciousness.

-line break

The brown-haired boy woke to find himself lying sprawled on the floor. He had no idea how much time had passed or why he hadn't been assimilated yet. A spitting headache assaulted him and he crawled to his feet in confusion.

 **[Good evening colonel. It is nice to have you awake again.]**

A voice reverberated in his head and Issei perked up at that. 'Sentinel? No… you're not Sentinel, who the hell are you and how did you get in my head.'

 **[Indeed, I am not your partner. I am Tempest, shipboard AI of the Eventide. I have lain dormant here for seven centuries now, you woke me when you were infected with a portion of my self-defence routines.]**

'And what do you want from me?'

 **[Nothing for now. It's still too soon for me to wake. I have restored your magic to you and once the damage from your botched fusion is repaired, Sentinel will be reactivated.]**

'And you did all this for free?' Issei asked dubiously.

 **[Predestination is a curious thing colonel. You will understand eventually. For now, the magic jammer has been deactivated, once you leave I'd appreciate if you keep my awakening a secret. The devils are aware that I exist but it is for the best if they believe me to be offline.]**

'And say I choose to inform them?'

 **[I'm afraid you don't have a choice colonel. Once you leave, your memory of this place will be scrubbed. You will chalk your survival up to your familiar's assistance.]**

'…I don't have a familiar.'

 **[You do now.]**

A soft squawk down by Issei's feet drew his attention, what appeared to be a hawk made of smoke and shadows not unlike the shrieker he killed earlier stood there staring up at him. As it flapped its wings, Issei could see that this was another biomechanical being, dull silver metal peeked out at him from under the shadows.

 **[This was created from the ship itself and fused with the shadow wisps still clinging to you from a past kill. It will serve as the ultimate infiltrator. Once you leave, it will be credited with saving your life by being formed from the metal infection.]**

'…You leave nothing to chance, do you?'

 **[Of course, it is how I was programmed. The exit to the surface is just beyond this point, take the elevator up and exit the hangar bay. Farewell colonel and beware the hydra, it is one of my more temperamental creations.]**

Issei remained silent as Tempest's voice and presence faded from his mind. Already he could feel his memories becoming hazy as they were being purged. He sighed in exasperation as he wouldn't be getting any answers here before walking towards the elevator he'd been directed to. His new familiar hopped onto him and perched on his shoulders as he did so.

Issei squinted as bright light hit his eyes once he exited the elevator. Sunlight was coming from the cave exit just up ahead and he found Hod waiting for him there.

"You made it. I knew you had it in you… and you have a new friend."

"So I do. Not really sure how it happened but the infection became… this. I guess it has something to do with the shrieker I killed earlier since it looks so similar. I take it the light up ahead is the exit?"

"Indeed. But one nasty hydra is guarding it." Hod pointed to the cave mouth and Issei heard the roar. He could just make out several heads bobbing in the distance like a writhing mass of snakes.

"Wonderful. It's back."

 **[Colonel, neural link has been re-established. Basic systems are functional again, assimilation and assault mode are still offline. Bond appears to have been strengthened, processing speed has increased.]**

'Sentinel? Good to have you back. The bloody hydra is in our way again, any suggestions?'

 **[Recommendation, toss a shard of myself into the hydra, my ability to infect and assimilate organics has been restored. I can kill the hydra from within.]**

'Well that's as good a plan as any.' Issei nodded and directed his attention to Hod. "Stay here, I'll deal with the hydra."

"Hod can help you know."

"Yes, but you've already done more than I can repay you for. Leave this one to me." He didn't wait for a reply before rushing in the direction of the hydra, ready for a rematch. He started shooting at the hydra as soon as he came within range and was answered by a chorus of angry roars and large amounts of acid spit. His new familiar took to the skies and started circling the battle.

A luck shot struck his rifle dead on and Issei dropped the rapidly dissolving metal. Drawing his twin pistols, he started firing at the mass of heads, shooting out the eyes of the nearest heads. Using the trashing of the injured ones to disrupt the hydra's aim, he closed the distance and smiled when the blinded heads prevented the rest from trying to eat him.

Stray splashes of acid were deflected by his energy shields and Issei gave thanks that there wasn't anything for it to eat through, otherwise this would be far harder. Tossing his last grenade, Issei blew apart several of the hydra's necks and tossed metal shards into them before they could regrow.

As soon as the necks started growing, metal started to grow into the wound as well, hampering the regeneration and causing the beast pain. 'It's working… but not fast enough. Let's see if we can't speed things up.'

[Boost!]

Issei felt his power double as his sacred gear activated. Channelling every scrap of magic he had in him, Issei reached out and placed a palm on the Hydra's chest and willed the world to bend to his ideal. "Burst."

The hydra's flesh bulged around Issei's hand before violently exploding outwards in a shower of blood and gore. A cold smile graced Issei's face, the complete version of the skill dress break, designed to not only strip clothes but rend flesh from bone. There was no such thing as a flesh wound with this spell.

Testament to the hydra's incredible durability, the massive gouge in its belly was already starting to heal. Not wasting any time, Issei formed an arm blade and stabbed it into the exposed flesh before breaking it off inside. He repeated the process as many times as he could before the hydra threatened to crush him with its flailing.

'Will that do?'

 **[Yes colonel, recommendation, withdraw until it dies.]**

'Got it, just- SHIT!' Issei leapt backwards as one of the hydra's still untouched heads came close to chomping down on him. As it circled around to try again, Issei's familiar dived straight for the head. The shadow bird's beak was enveloped in a crimson laser and it spun as it fell, drilling straight through the top and emerging on the other side, a perfectly circular hole left behind to mark its passing.

Landing on Issei's shoulder once more, the boy scrambled to get out of the way as the hydra entered its death throes. Sprinting back to where Hod was waiting, Issei gave the bird a long look. "Not bad, not bad at all. Since you're a bird and you're going to be one of my spy assets… I think I'll call you Laserbeak. It seems only fitting."

-line break

"Alright, we're out."

"Good that you're happy, this is where we part ways."

"You're not coming with?"

"I am cursed dear boy, to remain here until my sin has been paid for. Having you around was a nice break from monotony, but until it is lifted, insanity will be my only companion."

"…I think I can call in a favour from the maou to look into this curse. We'll get it lifted soon."

Hod shook his head sadly at Issei's words. "I'm afraid that's not possible friend, the maou may be strong but they have no way of breaking this curse, nor should they. Your concern is more than enough for me."

"…Why were you even cursed. You don't strike me as the kind of criminal worth being condemned to solitary confinement for life."

"A long time ago, I was tricked into murdering a compatriot, for that sin I was damned. It is a mistake I regret to this day, but you can't change the past, only look towards the future. Don't concern yourself with it, there is nothing you can do to change things."

"Who tricked you and how? Shit, couldn't you have explained the situation?"

"My… friend was immune to every conceivable form of harm, it became a past time for us to just throw weapons at him and watch them bounce off harmlessly. I… was given the one thing, the only thing capable of breaching his defences by another I once called brother. My intentions didn't matter, the results were all the judges cared for."

"And the trickster?"

"As far as I know, got off untouched."

"…I will see justice done."

"Please don't dear friend, no need to waste your energy on little old me. Here, a parting gift as thanks for your company." Hod withdrew two items from his cloak, a small block of wood and a rusty sword. "These items have been with me for so very long now… despite my blindness, I am given visions of the future every now and then. I don't know how it will happen but I do know that both of these will aid you in the trails to come."

"I… I…" Issei was left speechless by the blind man's words. The two items looked so innocuous but he could easily tell that they held great significance for the man, for him to offer them up just like that… Issei could only accept them in silence and with gratitude.

"…Thank you very much Hod, I won't go out searching for vengeance if that is what you wish. But if the opportunity shows up, I will be taking the bastard who framed you down. As far as I'm concerned, one good deed deserves another, you've helped me out here when you didn't need to and I will find a way to repay that. I will not allow injustice to stand even if it means going against the world."

Issei stored the items in his sacred gear as Hod spoke up one last time. "My, my, you would defy the heavens themselves for a cause you believe in… simple yet so complicated… you do take after your father Issei."

"Yes thank- wait what!?" Issei looked up in shock and was about to question Hod when he realised the man was missing. He'd vanished into thin air and Issei couldn't spot him anywhere. Consulting with Sentinel only informed him that the man's presence had disappeared as soon as he finished speaking. "…Why can't things ever be simple? And how the hell did he know my name? I am ashamed to admit I forgot to give it."

 **[Hypothesis, your existence automatically complicates things.]**

"Haaah… much as I'd like to refute that I really can't." Issei sighed and keyed his communicator again, getting through to Rias this time. Whatever interference was jamming his communications and ability to warp had vanished once he exited the caves.

"Ise!? Where have you been? Are you alright? Your signal cut off fifteen minutes ago and we're still searching in the pit you created."

"Uh yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine… I'll be warping over to your location now… you are not going to believe what I have to say."

Issei took one last look around the place before vanishing in a burst of blue sparks.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 14** : Friend or foe

"Damn it Haruna-nee! Is it really necessary to show off the picture albums?"

"Oh cheer up boy, you're the only one here upset about it. Besides look at Asia and buchou, they're happy enough with it."

Issei directed a disturbed gaze at the two in the corner, lost blissfully in their own world while pouring over images of his childhood. He could have sworn he caught them drooling from time to time but he wasn't really sure and in all honesty, he didn't really want to think further on it. Only madness lay in that direction.

"Yeah… right… whatever makes them happy… I guess? And weren't we supposed to be having a meeting about ORC stuff? How did it turn into this, even Akeno-sempai and Koneko-chan are busy looking at old photos."

"You know why, kaa-san always wanted to show off your photos if you ever brought girls around but she pretty much gave up hope that a day like that would ever come. Now that's no longer a problem though and I will fulfil her dreams in her absence. Such a shame that both kaa-san and tou-san had to be called away on business at this time, they'd have loved to be here."

"Thank goodness they're gone then, otherwise my reputation will never recover."

"What reputation? That of a no-good pervert?" Haruna countered in a sarcastic tone.

"…Touche." Issei looked away, not having a comeback for that. His eyes landed on Kiba and Issei frowned as he noticed the blond knight staring at one particular page with a look of surprise and a surprising amount of hatred in his eyes.

Walking over, he looked over his shoulders to see what had the knight all riled up. "Something the matter Kiba?"

Issei stared at the picture and was unable to comprehend what could induce such hate. It wasn't anything special, just an image of him and one of his childhood friends, a boy named Rin whom he'd played with a lot in the past. Behind the two of them stood Rin's father, a kindly man holding onto a cool looking replica of a European sword.

"Issei, this photo…"

"Hmm? Just a childhood friend of mine and his dad why? They moved away shortly before first grade due to work commitments… I haven't seen them since. Is something wrong?"

"Do you remember this?" Kiba asked while pointing to the sword.

"Ah that? That's just a replica sword his old man keeps, used to show it off to us back then. It was a cool toy but I haven't really thought about it in years… is something… please don't tell me that that 'replica' is actually some kind of superweapon." Issei asked with a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Hahahaha…" Kiba gave a hollow laugh, his eyes burning with hatred. "Nothing like that Ise-san, it's just… this is a holy sword."

-line break

"Shouldn't you be off practicing for the ball tournament? It's in two days."

"Is there a point? No one in the ORC is human, victory is assured unless Rias decides to throw the match to not arouse suspicion. The only ones who could compete are the student council who aren't participating. Besides, Kiba's been out of it since he saw a picture of a holy sword. You know anything about that?"

"Why are you asking me this? I don't actually know everything." The glasses wearing boy looked up from his book before sighing. "I get it, holy sword equals church huh? And because of my… unique relationship with it, you expect me to have answers."

"More or less, I've already checked with Gael and he doesn't know if or when the church screwed over a boy named Kiba. Short of breaking into the Vatican, you're the only person I can think of who would have answers, considering no one in the know wishes to speak about it."

Motohama sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose and massaging it. "There are quite a few possibilities but given who we're talking about, it is most likely the holy sword project. Years ago, the church thought it'd be a good idea to find a way to mass produce soldiers who could wield the Excalibur fragments. Since there are seven of them and a general shortage of natural born wielders I can't say it's a bad idea."

"I take it they screwed the implementation."

"You dear friend have a knack for understatements. They managed to identify a special factor existing in all humans that affects their affinity for the blades. The more you have of it the more likely it is that you can wield one of the blades. And so they experimented on children, put them through hell and more… not unlike the Choir in that regard."

"Given how Kiba reacted, they followed SOP for black ops didn't they?"

"Right on the money. No witnesses no evidence, gassed the kids and machine gunned the ones who tried to run. From what I know, there were two survivors of the incident, one remains in the hands of the church while the other disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. It's a safe bet that he wound up with the devils after the incident and changed his name to Kiba Yuuto… well that's just speculation on my part, we won't know for sure unless he fesses up."

Issei clenched his fist in anger at Motohama's words. If Kiba was a survivor of such an atrocity, his reaction to the image of a holy sword would be understandable. Thinking back, Kiba tended to react negatively whenever the prospect of one of his comrades dying came up… in the same manner that one who had lost them would.

"Is the mastermind still alive? I could bring him in for Kiba to skin if it'll give him some sense of closure. Right now, Kiba is a ticking time bomb, if he encounters a holy sword I am damned sure he'll disregard everything else to destroy it."

"Mastermind? Which one? It's the Choir all over again, their hands are all stained. But if you're asking for their scapegoat, it's a man named Valper Galilei. His hands are by far the dirtiest, it's just that he isn't the only one."

"And where is he now? One is better than nothing."

"No clue, he dropped off the radar after being excommunicated. I can have eyes out for him, but right now I'm more worried about the Choir, they're up to something, whatever they were after in Tokyo they got it. I didn't make it in time… and now sightings of them are increasing rapidly, they're planning something large and it's going down soon."

"I thought they were destroyed, only a few scattered remnants left to carry out their insane ambitions." Issei perked up at the mention of the Choir's actions, pursing his lips in distaste at the memories bubbling to the surface.

"If only it were that simple. The Choir is an organization of the church dedicated to ensuring the humanity's ascension to a higher existence by any means necessary, be they injecting the blood of eldritch abominations into people or forcing their subjects to comprehend knowledge man was not meant to know. All methods thus far have ended in failure and the creation of uncountable monstrosities fit only to be slaughtered… the final destiny of those unable to resist the change be it from weak will or being pushed beyond the body's limits. Granted a few of their… experiments do retain their sense of self and are no harm to regular mortals… yet, such as Gael and his bloodhounds. Ethics and restraint are foreign words to their leaders and no sacrifice is too great as long as they aren't the ones paying for it. Their greatest atrocity by far would be the creation of the city of madness Yharnam and the suffering inflicted on its denizens, millions dead or driven insane over countless decades of experimentation. That all changed when the both of us razed the city to the ground, half their leadership is dead and the other half in hiding. Thus far they have split into three distinct groups, one went begging for mercy from the church and were accepted back, one went and joined up with the man himself Cypher and the rest just scattered to do as they please until I hunt down and execute them of course."

"Yes… I already know all that, I was there remember? Why are you explaining it to me again?"

"It's called exposition and it's not for you, it's for the reader."

"The what?"

"The reader or readers as the case may be, they know what I'm talking about… you don't have enough insight to see what I see so don't think too hard about it Issei, you'll go mad from the revelation."

"…Okay? Ignoring that then, what about their operation in Tokyo?"

"Hmmph, they were out in force, too many and too organised to be anything but an organised effort. My money's on it being one of Cypher's operations, too high profile for the church. They were searching for something and by the time I got there they already extracted their prize. The members left behind were there to tie up loose ends and or prevent me from pursuing. They're planning something big, I figure we'll hear about it soon enough."

"You think they'll come to Kuoh."

"It is a distinct possibility, you did kill Jibril here after all, they might show up to try and finish what he started. Given our terrible luck, it's more of a 'when' than an 'if'. Best to be prepared, let the devils know that trouble might come knocking too will you?"

"Understood."

-line break

Issei entered the ORC clubroom with a troubled mind and was greeted with the sight of the student council standing around while Sona and Rias were drinking tea together. "Am I interrupting something? I'll leave if this is a bad time."

"Oh no Issei, it's just as well that you're here really. I was just thinking of introducing my new peerage members to Sona… even if the both of you have technically already met." Rias said as she put down her cup.

"Yes Hyoudou-san, the last time we met was right after the Jibril incident wasn't it. Back then you were still human as I recall, now that you're a devil let me reintroduce myself. I am Sona Sitri, a devil and a member of the house of Sitri, it's nice to meet you."

"Ah yes! Likewise. Given that the rest of the student council is here, they're your peerage?"

"How astute."

"You guys are getting a peaceful school life because Kaichou and us, the devil servants of Sitri, are working during the day. It won't be bad for you to remember that, you know? By the way, my name is Saji Genshirou. I'm in second year and Kaichou's 'Pawn'." A blond-haired male introduced himself.

"Oh? Thanks for your hard work then, as a fellow pawn and devil it's nice to meet you too." Issei gave a smile and held out his hand for a shake only to be rebuffed with condescending eyes from the student council member. "Don't put me in the same league as you, to think I'd be the same role as one of the three perverts… it hurts my pride quite a bit you know."

"What."

"Hmmph, I took up four pawn pieces, you are only worth one. Even if I'm a new devil, I won't lose to someone like you." Saji made his feelings known while staring disdainfully at the other pawn.

"Saji! That's enough!" Sona's cry came too late as Issei had already whipped out a pistol, stuck it in Saji's forehead and pulled the trigger. "W-wha!?"

The student council member could only gasp in surprise when a loud bang resounded and a shower of confetti fell over him. For the life of him, he couldn't understand what had happened, one moment Issei was standing with his hand outstretched the next a gun was at his temple and he was covered in confetti.

"You have me beat in being foolish indeed. I just killed you Saji Genshirou, just like that." Issei tapped the prop against his temple before continuing. "You couldn't even see me move now could you? Next time, learn to watch your mouth, the next person you spit on might just kill you for it." Issei smiled coldly before putting away the toy, leaving a thoroughly flabbergasted Saji standing there.

"I apologise for my pawn's actions Hyoudou-san, please forgive his brashness. He's still new and I clearly haven't done a good enough job educating him." Sona apologised and directed a scathing remark at Saji.

"B-but I… he's just worth one pawn!"

"And he's responsible for defeating Raiser Phenex almost singlehandedly and the death of a cadre class fallen angel."

"I thought that it was Kiba or Himejima-sempai who beat the Phenex, and wasn't the crow killed by his men's treachery?" Saji questioned, disbelief written all over his face.

"You thought wrong then, I may be a new devil but I am far from inexperienced."

"Yes… well he is still my pawn so I'd like if the two of you would be able to get along in the future. Saji."

"Eh? Er, yes! I'm sorry for my actions, please get along with me in the future!" Saji bowed his head in apology and managed to force the words out.

"Yes! Let's all get along from now on Saji-san!" Asia said while smiling radiantly, the heavy atmosphere lifted immediately and Saji perked up instantly.

"Ah if it's Asia-san then I will be most happy to get along with you!" Saji all but shouted as he grabbed her hand and started enthusiastically shaking it, leaving the ex-nun with a troubled expression on her face.

Noticing the less than pure look in his eyes, Issei intervened immediately, grabbing hold of Saji's hand and removing it from Asia's before shaking it and squeezing… hard. He delighted in the small wince of pain from the other pawn. "Yes, yes let's all get along now. But remember, Asia is important to me. _If you so much as even think about hurting or using her, I will end you._ "

Finishing in a whisper just loud enough for the secretary to hear, Issei unleashed a concentrated burst of killing intent at him, just to get the point across.

"Y-yes of course Hyoudou-san, I'd never do anything to hurt her."

"Good… then we'll get along just fine in the future."

Seeing that this was about as civil as Issei was going to get, Sona just sighed and rubbed her temples before making an excuse to leave. It was for the best, sticking around anymore would just give Saji more time to dig a bigger hole for himself.

Once they left, Issei returned his attention to Rias. "Buchou, we might have a situation."

He received one upturned eyebrow at that. "You recall what I told you about Cypher yes?"

"Jibril's master and the man whose operations my brother asked you to impede behind my back? Yes, I do remember him."

Issei winced at the evident displeasure in Rias' voice. "Your brother didn't mean anything bad by that. It's just… my talents and assets are best suited for such a task. My men have no overt connection to the underworld and I can be easily written off as a stray if things go south."

"Maybe, but you are my pawn Issei, try not to forget that. You might be fine with such an unsavoury task but I am not! You are not allowed to die on me. Do. You. Understand?"

"Hahaha… erm sorry? You'll have to voice your objections to the maou though, but that's not the point right now. Awhile back, one of my colleagues encountered what are almost certainly his men in Tokyo. He wasn't able to stop them from succeeding in their objective. Right now we have no idea what they're after but since Jibril died here…"

"They might come knocking, is that what you're suggesting?"

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared. Those agents… they're ex members of the church, will Kiba be alright against them? He hasn't been the same since he saw that picture of a holy sword…"

"If you're fishing for information again, I'm not giving it. That is his story to tell and I will respect his wish to remain silent."

"Nah I'm good on that, I think I know what happened to him… I just need to know if he'll go berserk if someone pulls out a genuine holy sword in combat."

"…He… shouldn't." A troubled look crossed her face when she realised she couldn't answer Issei with any certainty. "Anyhow, do you have contact with anyone else from the church? That blade in the photo isn't as famous as the big four, but it is still powerful… hard to believe that something like that once existed here."

"Nope, with the exception of Gael everyone I know is either ex-church or just in the habit of spying on them." Issei shook his head and denied it before looking to the ceiling and thinking further. "Well… a long time ago, I did have a Christian friend, but he moved away with his family years ago and in the time I knew them, they never mentioned anything about the supernatural. Heck, I didn't even know the sword was real until Kiba pointed it out."

"It is still more than a little worrying that such a sword existed in Kuoh all the way back then this town has been the devil territory for decades now…" A complicated expression crossed Rias' face and she paused to take a sip of tea. "I heard my predecessor disappeared a decade ago... did it have something to do with this?"

Shaking her head to dispel the worry starting to cloud it, she looked Issei in the eye and spoke with as much confidence as she could muster.

"In any case, Kiba is one of us, and nothing will change that. I have faith in him and you should too Ise."

-line break

"The tennis match between buchou and Sona-kaichou is starting soon, shouldn't you be there to support them Ise?" Kiba asked as he sensed Issei approaching from behind. Standing on the roof overlooking the school, there was a lonely air about him.

"I could ask the same of you Kiba."

"…I'm not in the mood for that, right now I just recalled my reason for fighting. The days that I've spent with everyone they were… fun but I've lost sight of my purpose in the process." Kiba clenched his fist as he spoke.

"…Purpose huh, care to elaborate?"

"Revenge. I live to destroy Excalibur."

"So you are a survivor of the holy sword project after all."

Kiba gave a low laugh before turning to face Issei. "Rias told you after all huh?"

"Nope, I have my own sources. There were a few possibilities but given your profile, the holy sword project was the most likely one."

"If you already know that then you know why I wish to destroy the Excalibur fragments and every other holy sword I can get my hands on. My comrades will never be able to rest in peace until I do so, even if I must die to succeed."

A cold wind blew between the two as Kiba made his plans known.

"Wow. That is the stupidest thing I've heard in a very long time… which is saying something considering the bullshit I have to put up with." Issei deadpanned and coldly mocked Kiba's resolution.

Both devils remained silent for an instant and as the wind stopped, they leapt into action.

A loud clang resounded as Issei blocked Kiba's slash with his arm blade. Kiba continued pushing against Issei with hate filled eyes. "I will not allow anyone to mock my comrades' sacrifice, not even you Issei."

"Mock your comrades' sacrifice? I don't have to do that, you're doing an excellent job of it yourself." Issei sidestepped and allowed Kiba to fall forwards from the force he was exerting.

"How dare you. They gave their lives so that I may live, now I exist to destroy the Excalibur fragments and I will not stop until I do so."

Kiba punctuated his words with a violent series of stabs and slashes, trying to break through Issei's guard to no avail. The pawn merely parried everything with either his arm blade or a small dagger, stopping only to dodge the sword Kiba would summon from the ground occasionally.

"Do you even hear yourself? Your friends died so that you may live, and you want to repay them by blindly charging in and getting yourself killed? Are you daft or just plain stupid?" Issei backpedalled and replaced his dagger with a pistol and sent a hail of laser bolts toward kiba, melting his swords and forcing him to dodge or be turned into swiss cheese.

Kiba cursed vehemently and summoned the holy eraser to absorb the lasers. Issei merely raised one eyebrow at the ever polite knight cussing like a sailor. Despite having his energy weapons rendered useless and standard firearms prohibited by their location, Issei merely shrugged and continued fighting with what he had.

"The Excalibur fragments must be destroyed! It's because of them that we were experimented on and murdered. They cannot be allowed to exist anymore, otherwise my family would have died for nothing." Kiba finished in a cold tone and dashed forwards using every bit of speed his knight piece afforded him.

Swinging his blade at Issei's throat, he cursed when the pawn hurled the pistol at him with startling speed. Upon bringing up his blade to block, the pistol morphed into a silver metal and stuck fast to the blade. Its weight increased tenfold and Kiba was forced to relinquish the blade or be brought down with it.

While he was defenceless, Issei leapt forward and lashed out with his foot. Kiba ducked under the kick and struck back with a punch. Issei dodged once more and only then did Kiba reveal that his move was a feint. Opening up his fist mid-punch, Kiba threw a handful of sand into Issei's eyes, blinding the pawn temporarily.

"Tch! Not bad at all." Issei grudgingly praised Kiba as he reflexively reached up to rub his eyes. He was then sent flying as Kiba's follow up kick sent him into a wall. As he pried himself from it, he left an imprint behind.

"So you do remember my lessons, now why do you insist on this foolishness."

"I live to avenge them. That is the one reason, the only reason why I'm still alive. Nothing else matters but revenge… and you will not stop me." Kiba lunged forward again, summoning countless blades from the floor to impede Issei's movement before thrusting a great sword towards Issei's heart.

Issei sighed and shook his head, disappointed in his friend. With a mighty swing, he withdrew the zweihander he took from Siris and shattered every blade with a wind enhanced slash while simultaneously blowing Kiba back.

"Is vengeance all you think about? Just how do you think your 'family' will react when you wind up dead because of your single-minded pursuit. I can tell you right now that Rias would be crushed and your old comrades will be really unhappy that you threw away the life they sacrificed themselves for just so you can have your vengeance."

"…I don't intend to hurt Rias but I owe it to my comrades to-"

"To do what? Die like a chump for no damned reason at all?" Issei interrupted the Knight's speech when he tired of listening to his one-track bullshit. "Do you seriously believe that your comrades gave their lives just so you could exist solely for revenge? Even if you survive, what kind of living is that, to be so consumed by anger and grief that you become a void."

Kiba shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter, this life isn't my own. It was bought with the blood of my family."

"I completely agree with you on that." Kiba was taken aback by Issei's frank words and stopped attacking for a brief moment. "Y-you do?"

"Indeed, your life was bought with theirs and it was bought by Rias when she used that knight piece on you. You owe your life to all of them, which is why I must stop you."

"…"

"If your fallen friends could see you now… how do you think they'd react? You know them far better than I possibly could so ask yourself the question, would they want you to throw away happiness for the sake of revenge? Would they be proud of you as you are or would they turn their heads away in shame?"

Kiba grit his teeth in anger and frustration as he had no way of countering Issei's words. "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Roaring in frustration, he resumed his assault.

Kiba lunged at Issei with swords in both hands, and spawned several swords in the air to lock down the pawn and prevent him from breaking them. Caught off guard by this new ability, Issei was unable to dodge and took the twin stabs to the chest dead on. Coughing up blood from the damage, Issei gripped Kiba's wrist with bloody hands and pulled him in closer.

"Oh I understand perfectly, Yuuto Kiba. You aren't fighting for your comrades, you're fighting for yourself. Don't use their memories as a shield for your actions, they deserve better than that." Issei spat out his words, each one coming with a fresh dose of crimson liquid.

"I… I… I…"

"You just attacked one of your current comrades with the intention to kill." Issei slammed a fist into Kiba's gut and dropped him to his knees in an instant. "You didn't even remember that I can survive mortal wounds when you struck. If I were anyone else, I'd be dead by now… still think your comrades will be proud of you?"

Ripping out and tossing away the swords, Issei lifted Kiba by his collar and held him up, looking the knight dead in the eye. His face had lost all sense of mirth and Issei was no longer playing around, he couldn't afford to feign nonchalance anymore.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're doing all this to honour their memory. Look me in the eyes and say it!"

Kiba averted his eyes in shame. How could he say it? He'd just used lethal force on someone he called friend, didn't matter who it was, his old family, his new one… all would be disappointed in him. If it had been Koneko or Akeno instead of Issei… he'd have the blood of one more on his hands.

"Like I thought. You can't" Issei released his grip and allowed the knight to drop. "Are we done here Kiba? This isn't about avenging your comrades at all, now is it? You just want to die."

"…" Kiba stared wordlessly at Issei, waiting for him to continue. His rage had vanished, replaced by grief and disappointment.

"It hurts doesn't it… knowing that you lived while your buddies died. You wish that you died in their place, you believe yourself unworthy of the life they gave you… that you don't deserve to be happy because they aren't here to be."

Again, Kiba nodded and continued staring wordlessly.

"There is no easy way to deal with survivor's guilt, but remember this if nothing else. Your life belongs to both your deceased comrades and Rias, you owe it to Rias to not betray her. And you owe it to your comrades to live a long and happy life since they live vicariously through you."

"I'd never betray Rias." Kiba retorted, some of the heat returning.

"You just stabbed me in the heart… twice." Issei's reaction doused it immediately. "My point is, your pursuit of vengeance is doing no one any good. Rias and the rest are worried about you enough that it is affecting their behaviour, Akeno poured salt into tea for goodness sake. Don't worry them any further, cut back on your obsession."

"…And what about justice then? Am I to forget everything that has happened? That all this was because of those accursed blades?" Kiba smiled helplessly at Issei. "I can't do that Issei-san."

"I never said that. But why the hell are you taking out your anger on a bunch of inanimate objects when the mastermind is still out there."

"Where. Is. He."

"I'm searching for him right now. I just ask that you get your head back in the game and not go berserk if a holy sword appears in front of you… even if it's one of the Excalibur fragments. You'll just cause more problems if you're too blinded by your hatred to think clearly."

"…I will do my best Ise-san." Giving a brittle smile, Kiba relented. "You know, I can still hear their screams even now… we complied with every test they put us through and when we failed to live up to their expectations, they branded us failures and disposed of us like so much trash."

"I know."

"To be haunted by your failures, by your weakness every moment of your life… do you know what that's like? I can't let go of my hatred that easily, even now it burns inside, willing me forwards."

"Oh believe me I know." Issei suppressed his own bitterness and allowed a small smile to form. The despair and sense of powerlessness emanating from him was palpable. "I too want vengeance Kiba, so much so that it physically hurts."

Issei clenched his fist and dug his nails into his palm hard enough to draw blood. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and slowly unclenched his fist, allowing the rage to drain away as pain brought clarity to his mind.

"But I don't let my hate and grief consume me now do I? Even if it hurts, you just have to be strong… because the alternative is so much worse."

"…How do you deal with it then?"

"The same way I deal with every other problem." Issei bared his teeth in a feral smile. "I grit my teeth and carry on with a smile, because that's the only path available. Some things you can't change no matter how much you want to, so I choose to focus on the things I have control of."

Kiba gave a low laugh. "I wish I had your strength Ise-san. Things would be so much simpler."

"I'm not strong at all Kiba. Even now I struggle." Issei shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Go ask my sister about my past… you'll understand then. We're all broken to some extent, ya just have to pick up the pieces and move on, dwelling on the past will bring nothing but misery, that's a lesson I'm still learning even now."

Issei turned and began to walk away, wiping away a stray tear that escaped him in the process. "Just remember this, no one, not your old comrades, not Rias and most certainly not me will be pleased if you get yourself or someone else killed because of your hate... just think about what I said."

-line break

It was raining hard and the stormy weather matched Kiba's mood perfectly. The dodgeball match had already concluded and he had given a decent showing even though his mind was still stuck on Issei's words. What he learnt from Haruna didn't help matters in the least.

He couldn't comprehend how Issei was able to function so normally even after all that. 'Perhaps Ise-san has a point after all. But how do I-"

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of a person stumbling into a trashcan. The sound of metal clanging drew his attention and he looked up to see a priest approaching him. He could tell from the garb the man was wearing and the cross hanging from his neck.

Kiba summoned a demonic blade and was ready to strike at the earliest provocation. He'd do as Issei said and avoid throwing away his life recklessly but there was no way in hell he'd hold back against a member of the church who ruined his life.

He frowned when he noticed a rapidly spreading dark patch on the front of the man's robes. Even in the dim light, he could tell it wasn't from the rain.

The priest coughed and collapsed to the floor. Continuing to crawl forwards, he reached out to the sword wielding youth as though seeking salvation.

"H-help me…"

A small glint in the dim light caught Kiba's eye and the priest's struggles ceased as his head was neatly separated from his neck.

"Awww, he died. Is there no one who can give me a challenge? Ne, devil-san, will you provide more entertainment?" A voice full of madness called out from the shadows and a black-haired youth stepped forth.

Kiba narrowed his eyes at the blade in the stranger's hands. There was no way he could mistake that glow, an Excalibur fragment had presented itself to him after so long.

"heeheehehehee! I like it when they struggle before they die… scream for me, will you?" The demented Excalibur wielder swayed from side to side before lunging towards Kiba.

The knight merely raised his aura to the maximum before returning the favour, hatred filling his eyes every step of the way. He'd promised to avoid seeking out conflict on his own, but escape was hardly an option right now. And if the Excalibur was destroyed in the process…

"Bring it."

-line break

Issei sighed as the front door of his house came into sight. Soaked to the bone from the rain, he just wanted a hot shower and a bed to sleep on. Dealing with the supernatural was the last thing on his mind right now, but fate had other ideas.

He felt the holy aura long before he even came within eye shot of his home. Since the fallen under his command were all accounted for and Gael's unit didn't possess that sort of aura, whoever it was coming from wasn't one of his.

Palming twin daggers, he readied himself for a possible confrontation. "No rest for the weary huh…"

 **[Colonel, sensors indicate that your parents have returned and are currently in the house with two unknowns. No signs of hostility have been detected.]**

'Got it, they might be here to negotiate… by coming to my house while my parents are home, they've shut down most of my existing options… well played. But how the hell did they get through the wards?'

 **[Records indicate they were invited in.]**

'…I see.'

Suppressing his presence to the best of his ability, Issei activated his optical camouflage as soon as he reached his front door and was out of the rain. The water dripping off him might expose him but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

Seeing that the door was unlocked, he silently pushed it open and slipped in noiselessly. Sticking to the wall, he was prepared to stab the first stranger he saw. He was caught off guard by the sound of laughter coming from the living room.

'Kaa-san?' Issei didn't know what to make of the scene in front of him. His mother was busy sharing his old photo albums with two unknown girls wearing, one with short blue hair and the other with brown hair styled into twintails.

'Does she know them?' Hiding behind the door, Issei uncloaked before walking in, his entrance instantly drew the attention of the two exorcists. While the blue-haired girl remained impassive, her companion's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Ise-kun! It's been awhile hasn't it?"

"…Do I know you?"

"Mou, you don't recognise your old friend? It's me Shidou Irina!"

* * *

Author's notes: And so begins the Excalibur arc, many thanks to everyone who read this and I hoped you all enjoyed it.

* * *

Omake: He's a she?

"Shidou… Irina? The only Shidou I know is a boy named Rin, he moved away a long time ago though." Issei commented while wondering when the hell did Rin have a sister and how he'd never seen her before.

"Yup! That was me Ise-kun." Irina replied cheerfully.

Issei's brain short circuited immediately, shutting down, rebooting and then shutting down again.

"What."

"Geez, how can you not recognise your childhood friend? And we used to play superheroes in the past so much too, it hurts my feelings you know~"

Issei blinked and stared hard at her, trying his best to reconcile the image of the boy he once knew and the… very attractive girl before him now.

"Is something wrong?" Irina asked and tilted her head innocently, unable to fathom the serious conflict raging behind Issei's studiously blank face.

After several further hard crashes, Issei finally managed to return to coherent thought. He placed one hand on the confused girl's shoulder before doing his best to smile and started nodding sagely.

"Alright, so it really is you Rin. I… don't really know why or when you did it but as your old friend, I'll support your decision."

"What decision?"

Issei's brain shut down again as he desperately tried to figure out a way to address the elephant in the room, Sentinel's 'logical' advice to just say it was of zero usefulness for once.

"Umm… how do I put this tactfully…"

"Just say it Ise-kun, I won't be offended at all."

Deep breath. Exhale. Deep breath. Exhale.

Nerves steeled as much as possible, Issei decided to just get it over and done with.

"Okay! Here goes! I don't know why you decided to… to… go under the knife and become a girl, b-but as a friend I won't judge you for it. A-and you have my full support!"

He could have sworn he saw a crack run across Irina's features once his words registered and her expression froze in place.

The next thing he knew, his cheek was stinging after a teary eyed Irina had slapped him across the face.

"ISSEI-KUN NO BAKA! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A GIRL!"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 15** : Problems

"I don't give a damn if Raynare is cooking again, right now I have two exorcists in Kuoh and they're on their way to meet with Rias as we speak. Get your ass to the school now!"

Issei all but yelled into his phone as he struggled to be heard over the cacophony in the background. He hadn't the time to visit his base in a while and he dreaded to see what his freeloaders had done to the place, from the sounds alone, anarchy clearly reigned.

"You are aware that my history with the church is anything but cordial, right? Damnit Gael, you're the only friendly church asset in the town, I need you there to smooth things over. I don't need the great war restarted right now. Just be there!"

Issei hung up and flashed straight into the clubroom, running into Rias who was just coming out of the shower.

"Ise? Didn't you already go home… is something the matter?"

"Buchou, we have a situation, two exorcists from the Vatican are on their way here now. They don't appear to be hostile but I figured I'd give you a heads up all the same."

Rias eyes lit up at his words. "Already? I just got the report from Sona that some exorcists had entered Kuoh, didn't expect them to come here immediately."

"...Actually, they kind of showed up at my house first."

"What!?"

"One of them happens to be an old friend… the one in the photo that set Kiba off." Issei sheepishly admitted. Rias just rubbed her temples at that. "You know everyone don't you? I suppose we have to keep Kiba from meeting him then."

"I think Kiba will be able to handle himself, I did have a talk with him earlier."

"By talk you mean destroying the school roof?" Rias asked sceptically with one eyebrow raised. Issei for his part merely whistled innocently. "I… have no idea what you're talking about buchou. We had a very civil conversation like two gentlemen."

"Haaah, never mind, just call the rest, would you? It's for the best if we're all present."

Issei nodded and keyed his communicator, calling all the other peerage members back. Within minutes, all had arrived, Kiba was the last and he looked strangely beat up. Issei hoped that he hadn't run into the two and picked a fight with them.

Leaning against the wall in a corner, Issei was about to ask what happened to him when the door opened once more and in walked Irina and Xenovia. Both of them held their heads high and were unscathed, Issei was both relieved and worried to see that, their condition meant whatever had happened to Kiba didn't involve them.

Of course, that also raised the issue that Kiba had been involved in a conflict with some other unknown, and Issei wasn't sure what to make of it yet. 'Sentinel, increase surveillance on the town, something's up and I don't like this. Laserbeak, I want eyes in the sky, report anything abnormal.'

 **[Understood colonel.]**

 **[As you command master, taking off now.]**

Issei received two affirmatives from his mental link and relaxed slightly. The only thing ticking him off right now was that Gael was still a no show.

Irina and Xenovia took a seat across from Rias and immediately launched into their reason for coming to devil territory.

"Recently the three Excalibur fragments that were kept by the Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen."

"Excalibur fragments?" Haruna asked in confusion as this was the first time she'd heard of something like this and Rias answered her query. "Indeed, Excalibur itself no longer exists, it was shattered in the great war and its seven largest pieces were reforged into seven new blades."

"That's right Haruna-nee, but they're all still very strong holy swords of course!"

"Umm… do I know you?" Haruna asked while furrowing her brows in confusion.

"It's me, Shidou Irina!"

"Shidou… Irina… Rin-chan!? You're an exorcist now!?"

"Yup! Time changes people I guess… even you and Ise-kun are no longer the same…"

"Irina, there's not need to socialise with these devils now is there?" Xenovia interrupted their reunion. "In any case, this is my Excalibur, Excalibur Destruction."

She removed her cloth wrapped sword and uncovered it, revealing the long sword hidden within. A chill ran down the spine of all the devils in the room, Asia started shivering and hid behind Issei while the rest were put on guard immediately.

The veteran devils narrowed their eyes at the weapon responsible for the deaths of countless devils and there was a brief burst of potent killing intent from Kiba before he suppressed it with great effort. Haruna herself seemed torn between escaping and summoning her sacred gear for a first strike. Only Issei wasn't really affected by the weapon, having been exposed to large amounts of holy energies in the past. He was more or less used to the feeling… although his left arm started aching for some reason.

"Oh come on Xenovia, at least let me greet my old friends… anyway, this is my Excalibur, Excalibur Mimic." Irina pulled out a coil of rope before changing it into a katana before their very eyes. Another chill ran down the devils' spines as their instincts screamed at them to get away from the weapons that could probably end their existence with one scratch.

"As the name suggests, I can change the sword into anything I want, it makes carrying it around easy." Irina said with pride. "Irina, there's no need to tell the devils about the swords abilities now is there?"

"We need to build a trustworthy relationship with them right now. And besides, I won't lose to them even if they know what my sword can do."

While the two were bickering, Issei had broken out into a cold sweat and he grabbed his left arm with his right. His entire arm felt like it was on fire and it took every ounce of willpower he had to not scream out in pain.

'W-what the hell is going on, Sentinel!?'

 **[Colonel, the holy daggers and the rusty blade from Hod are reacting to the Excalibur fragments. Not enough data to conclude why this is so.]**

'S-shit!' Issei forced his face to remain impassive despite the sheer agony running up his limb. "Yes… very nice, now can you put them away? Those blades are making us uncomfortable here."

"Ah. Yes, yes sorry." Irina hastily apologised and turned Mimic back into a rope before stowing it away. Xenovia likewise covered up her blade and slung it over her shoulders once more. The devils collectively breathed easier once the blades were no longer out in the open. And the pain in Issei's arm vanished once the sword were no longer out in the open.

Kiba's killing intent did flare one last time at the sight of the objects he'd directed his hatred towards for so long vanishing from view but otherwise didn't react.

Taking a deep breath, Rias took the initiative to get the conversation back on track. "Right… now what does the theft of the Excaliburs have to do with us? Not to mention the two of you brought your own holy swords here…"

This time it was Xenovia who spoke instead of Irina, her cold eyes sweeping over each devil present as she did. "There are a total of seven Excalibur fragments. Each church was in possession of two of them and the last went missing some time near the end of the great war. Right now, one sword from each of the churches and the thief escaped to this town."

Rias buried her face in her hands and gave a long-suffering sigh. "Of course they brought it here… it seems that my territory is just full of problems nowadays… so, who stole the swords?"

"The Grigori did." Issei raised one eyebrow at that statement, from what he'd heard from the fallen under his wing, such an action was extremely out of character for the organisation.

"You sure about that? From what I know of them, they're more interested in research than stealing blades from the church. In fact, they're more likely to try to create a new blade superior to the Excalibur than steal the existing ones."

"I assure you devil, we are most certain on it. One of our exorcists managed to identify the thief as Kokabiel of the Grigori before expiring from his wounds." Xenovia regarded Issei with cold eyes as she said so. "That exorcist happens to be one of my old friends and I believe his words."

"Kokabiel huh, I guess it makes sense then. He's the only other idiot who'd do something like this… bloody war hawk."

"We've sent priests and exorcists but they keep getting murdered before they even reach the town, so far we're the only ones to make it. We have been sent to retrieve the stolen blades by any means necessary, one more comrade is on the way but she's been delayed, so for now it's just us."

"Wonderful… just wonderful… now the church wants to start a fight with a cadre class fallen angel in my territory. So, what do you expect of us."

"Our request… no our order is that no devils are to intrude on our conflict with the fallen. In other words, don't interfere with our mission to retrieve the stolen swords."

The crimson haired king narrowed her eyes dangerously at Xenovia's provocative words. "How dare you. You come into my territory without permission and you have the gall to order me? Tread lightly exorcist, lest you start something that I'll finish."

"Your words mean nothing to me devil. The higherups cannot rule out that you'll collaborate with the fallen on the Excalibur swords if only to weaken the church. If you interfere, we will eliminate you even if you're the sister of the maou."

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife, large amounts of hostility were rising on both sides and Issei could tell that Kiba was close to lunging at them in rage. 'Damnit Gael, where the bloody hell are you!?'

Until the werewolf got here, he'd have to do his best to play mediator. "That's enough all of you! Getting into a brawl here will not help at all. Now why don't we all calm down and discuss this like civilised people, as befitting our station."

Seeing that both sides were remaining silent and that the situation wasn't going to escalate any time soon, Issei continued. "Alright, first off, Xenovia-san, your words were uncalled for. We would never work with Kokabiel because of our own morals and partly because he'll kill us on sight just for being devils. Secondly, this isn't the work of the Grigori, it's practically a given that Kokabiel has gone rouge since such an action is something Azazel will never order."

"Oh, and how do you know all this? Do you have some connection with the Grigori?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. While I've never met the man in question, I have heard enough to know that he'd much rather spend the rest of his life researching sacred gears, he's only going to show when there's some sort of end of the world threat… and only because such a thing will affect his research."

"Ise-kun, are you sure about this? The higherups were very certain that this was the work of the Grigori, it's why they sent the three of us when initial retrieval attempts failed."

"I am certain, I've compiled a profile on all the leaders of the Grigori and aside from Kokabiel himself, none of the others are the sort to be interested in stealing holy swords." Issei continued and didn't miss the small flinch from Akeno when he mentioned the other leaders.

"The majority of the fallen's leaders are researchers in some sense of the word, only two of them live and breathe warfare, of which Kokabiel is the more prominent. From what I know, he has never been pleased that the great war ended in what is essentially a ceasefire and has been seeking to restart it at every available opportunity. Azazel has always shut him down though."

"…You seem to know a lot about them… just who are you."

"I am complicated and since knowledge is power I intend to amass as much as I possibly can. Good, now that we're no longer trying to kill one another, we won't finish his plan early."

"You know what he's planning Ise?" Now that the hostility in the air had been somewhat diffused by Issei, Rias was curious as to what her pawn had come up with.

"Like I said, Kokabiel wants to restart the war, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Three missing Excaliburs in Kuoh, a territory jointly run by the sisters of two of the maou, and two… maybe three exorcists who clearly have ties with the church's leadership here without backup. Just what do you think will happen if one side bites it hmm? Neither the church nor the devils will take such an insult lying down and Kokabiel gets the war he'd been yearning for."

A heavy silence fell over the room as Issei outlined what Kokabiel's plan most likely was. While everyone present had never fought in the war itself, they knew enough to understand just how devastating a new wave of hostilities would be to their factions.

"W-well even so… we can't have the devils interfering Ise-kun." Irina gave a helpless smile after several moments of silence. "This is a matter between the church and the fallen, even if it is a rouge one. For the devils to ally with either side… it will affect the balance of power between the three and it might spark a war anyway."

"Haaah… well this is just bloody perfect isn't it. You do realise that by virtue of the battlefield being Kuoh alone, the devils will be dragged in one way or another? And how do you expect to defeat Kokabiel with just the two of you and… whoever your missing ally is? This is a cadre class fallen who is almost guaranteed to have a large number of minions with him… do you intend to die Irina-chan?"

"If that is what it takes, yes." Irina answered with a straight face, the conviction was clear in her eyes.

"I agree with Irina, although I'd prefer to avoid dying if possible."

"You came all this way on a suicide mission… wonderful…"

"Ah Ise-kun, please don't insult our religion like that."

"Indeed, the church has decided that it is imperative that we get the Excaliburs away from the fallen at all costs. If that means destroying the blades, so be it. If our deaths are required for that, so be it, the only way to fight Excalibur is with another Excalibur after all."

Issei just stared blankly at the twin exorcists. "I have no problems with your religion, I however have a serious issue with the church. Who the hell thought this was a good idea?"

Xenovia frowned and prepared to unsheathe her sword. "Watch your mouth devil, insult the church again and I will cut you down."

"…You don't even know what the church is responsible for now do you. Never mind, if your mind is so set on the _purity_ of the church, nothing I say will change your mind. I assume you have some secret weapon though? Strong as your Excaliburs are, I highly doubt they'll be enough to defeat Kokabiel on their own."

"I will leave it up to you to imagine. Just stay out of our way, the church's stance is that we interact with you as little as possible. Irina and I plus our comrade who isn't here yet will be enough to deal with this. Your interference will only upset the balance of power and possibly drive Kokabiel to speed up his end game."

"That makes… sense." Rias grudgingly admitted. "Fine… we'll stay out of your way. But if the conflict threatens to harm the humans and or drags my people into it, I will not stay quiet on the issue. We clear on that?"

"Perfectly."

"If you say so Rias… needless to say though, I will be operating independently again. Too much is at stake for me to stand by and do nothing." Issei made his position on the matter clear to Rias' displeasure and resignation. "I suppose I can't stop you on this… I'll just have to trust your judgement."

"You intend to oppose us Ise-kun?" Irina asked in a shocked tone.

"I have my own unit independent of any of the supernatural factions and I will do as I please. But I won't impede you unless you start hurting civilians, if anything, I'll probably be offering assistance."

"And what kind of help could you give us?"

"Quite a lot actually, right now, I can at least increase your numbers." Issei smirked as Xenovia raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Before you complain, relax. It won't be devils or fallen angels that I'll be detailing to help you. It'll be members of your own church, namely, the idiot priest currently standing outside the door eavesdropping."

Before the two exorcists could ask what Issei was referring to, the door swung open and in walked Gael, a sheepish look on his face. "Ahahaha… you caught me bossman. It just didn't seem like the right time to enter so I didn't."

"You were supposed to be here a long time ago, where the hell were you?" Issei asked in a monotone that somehow conveyed every bit of annoyance he was currently feeling.

"Um, I got lost on the road of life? It's a long story bossman… eh look it's the slash princess, I haven't seen you in a while, how ya been?" Recognition lit up Xenovia's face when she beheld Gael's scars. "You! You're Gael, captain of the bloodhounds! Why are you here!?"

"His eminence Vasco Strada assigned me to this town as liaison to Hyoudou Issei after the Jibril incident. Right now, only a third of the bloodhounds are available though, the rest are out on their own missions."

Xenovia was confused by his words and it showed. "Why would you be assigned to a devil?"

"Bossman was human back then, and why wouldn't I be assigned to him. Of every possible member of the church they could send, I'm the one he's least likely to send back in a box. Best to send a familiar face to build up relations with the then unaffiliated human who killed a cadre class fallen angel on his own. It's just logic really."

"What!?"

"Your superiors didn't tell you? Hyoudou Issei is quite possibly the largest threat in Kuoh at the moment discounting Kokabiel, by virtue of just how far he's willing to go to win how many plans he has in place to ensure victory. Him killing Jibril is proof of that."

"B-but how do you know him? And if you do know him, why didn't you bring him to the church before these devils got their hands on him?"

"I owe him a life debt. Before I was a bloodhound, he was the one who saved me from a very, very nasty fate. As to why I didn't bring him… let's just say the church has more than a few skeletons to hide. Bossman has mellowed out somewhat but there was a time when he and his buddies were operating on a kill on sight order for every church agent they came across… and worst of all was that their actions were completely justified." Gael gave a bitter smile as he admitted the fact much to the disbelief of Xenovia and Irina.

"H-how could it be justified! Ise-kun, please tell me you didn't murder all of them… please!"

"What you call murder I call execution. If they were tried in any court, they'd be given the death sentence without fail, I just took it upon myself to carry it out since no one else will. If you knew what they've done to deserve it… I don't think you'll want to wear that cross anymore."

"Hoh, so they screwed over more than just me huh?" Kiba finally spoke up after spending so long in silence, the rage and hate in his voice evident for all to hear. "And who are you?"

"Your sempai… although I was classified a failure and slated to be murdered by your superiors. To think those accursed blades are right in front of me… well I promised Ise that I wouldn't do anything rash but know this, your swords are stained with the blood of my comrades, the blood of all those experimented on and murdered in the holy sword project."

The exorcist's eyes widened considerably at Kiba's revelation.

"Sorry to say this Kiba, but compared to some of the things I've seen the church do… you got off light. Gael had it far worse than you I'm afraid."

"We had nothing to do with that, and besides, justice has already been done. The one responsible has already been-"

"Excommunicated? You refer to Valper Galilei do you not?" Issei interrupted Xenovia's words with his own.

"You cast him out and left him alive to continue doing harm to the world. And you bastards knew that Kiba was still alive after the massacre, strangely though, when I looked through your records, I couldn't find _any_ attempt at all to locate the missing boy and or pay restitution to the victims. Your bosses just covered everything up and pretended it didn't happen… like so many other atrocities by the church. Where is the justice in that!? Do tell."

"…"

"And you wonder why I have a problem with the church."

"I don't know what the higherups have done about it since I'm not privy to that information, but that survivor is now a devil, I see no reason for the church to do anything more."

Kiba summoned a long sword and was about to lunge at the blue haired exorcist.

"Calm down Kiba, attacking now will do you no good." Issei moved to restrain the blond knight as soon as he tried to attack, blocking his sword with his own arm blade.

"And you, how very like the church, cherry picking the facts that suit your purpose and ignoring everything else. Fine, don't count Kiba then, if you're so adamant that because he was forced to become a devil by the church, all the wrongs done to him no longer apply. What about the other victims then? Do they even have a proper grave or some kind of memorial to mark their existence and the tragedy that befell them?"

Xenovia had no answer for that. "So you believe that the Christian faith is evil then?"

"I never said that. I only have a problem with how the church is run, your leadership is corrupt and they've screwed over the people close to me more times than I care to count. I don't want to go any further into this, it just makes me want to break something. Ask Gael if you want to know the true darkness of the church, I don't blame you for your ignorance of it, they've done a terrific job covering it up from even their own people."

"Okay! This is getting out of hand, come on let's get out of here before any unnecessary bloodshed happens." Gael ushered Xenovia and Irina to the door with haste before either of them pissed the boss off any further.

Once they reached the exit however, Xenovia halted once more and turned back to face the devils. "One last thing, that nun hiding behind your back, she is the former holy maiden is she not?"

Asia froze after being addressed by her old title and Issei intervened immediately. "Xenovia-san. If you say what I think you're going to say… you will die."

"You intend to kill me? I won't go down without a fight."

"I don't have to do anything. If you insult Asia in anyway, Gael will kill you. If you do somehow escape him, the rest of the bloodhounds will track you to the ends of the Earth to end you. If and only if you avoid them will you deal with me."

Xenovia turned back to Gael and was shocked by how his pupils had narrowed into slits, barely suppressed fury burned behind them and she shivered despite herself.

"I understand that you've been led to believe that Asia is a heretic and that her existence is an affront to the church. Before you do anything foolish though, get the story from Gael first before you say something that'll get you killed. I leave them in your care Gael."

"Of course bossman, I'll make sure they know. Come on, let's go."

The room lapsed into silence as the agents of the church left. Asia shyly tugged at Issei's sleeve once they were gone. "Ummm… th-thank you very much Ise-san… for sticking up for me."

"Of course I did, I won't let anyone hurt you again, I promise." Issei smiled down at the girl and the radiant smile he received in turn warmed his heart.

-line break

"Very impressive, you actually managed to hide from both standard surveillance and my eyes. But I know you're here, come out. Now."

Motohama called out to his surroundings. He stood alone in the forest on the outskirts of town, still dressed in his school uniform. He was carrying a strange looking umbrella, made of metal and silver all over, it was far larger than a regular one.

His eyes narrowed when three shadows detached from the environment and moved to surround him. "We can do this the easy way or the really, really hard way. Please… resist."

The shadows moved and gunfire disrupted the relative peace and quiet of the area. Motohama seemed to dance as he dodged and parried every shot sent his way before leaping straight towards the closest assailant.

Ducking as a flash of silver shot by overhead, he stabbed the man through with the tip of his umbrella and tossed the corpse towards one of his companions.

While the assassin was distracted with deflecting the flying body, the last member of the trio was firing wildly at Motohama who for his part just opened up the umbrella. Bullets just bounced harmlessly off the shield and once the gun needed to be reloaded, Motohama retracted the cover and pulled the trigger, gunning the man down with a built-in rifle.

"All alone now. Tell me what the Choir is doing in Kuoh and I will make your end swift and painless."

Even with his white robes stained crimson with the blood of his ally, the man refused to speak, opting to resume attacking. Since bullets didn't work against his target, he withdrew two combat knives to fight with, trying to use the bulk of the umbrella against Motohama.

Sparks flared as their weapons clashed. Spinning the umbrella around, the glasses wearing boy deflected the flurry of stabs and continued trying to impale his opponent on the tip. Unfortunately for him, the assassin was wise to it and managed to avoid being in the firing arc of his rifle as well.

"This isn't working, fine I'll test out the rest of the prototype then." Opening up the umbrella to block the oncoming strikes, it also served to obscure his actions.

Abruptly shifting the shield to the side, he lashed out with a sword, cleaving the man's helm in two and scoring a long line down his face. A feral smile lit up his face at the sight of the assassin's shocked expression and the blood dripping down.

Once more turning the umbrella into a lance, he thrust forwards and nailed the man through his shoulder despite a last-minute dodge. Hacking downwards with his sword, he cleanly severed the arm at the shoulder and then delivered a kick to the staggered assassin's midsection.

Knocking the man through a tree, Motohama returned the sword to its scabbard in the umbrella and easily sidestepped the desperately thrown dagger.

Standing over the downed figure, he impaled the Choir agent through the stomach and buried the lance tip all the way into the ground, nailing his target to the floor. Rivulets of blood flowed from his palm and down into the wounded man.

"You don't get to die so easily I'm afraid, not after you rejected my good will, my blood will keep you alive. Now tell me what the Choir is doing in Kuoh and I'll end your suffering. If you don't speak, I'll just remove the rest of your limbs one at a time, then I get creative. Trust me, it will hurt and you will be conscious for it all."

"If I talk will you end me quick?" The downed assassin managed to get out through the haze of pain clouding his vision. He was screwed and he knew it, the monster standing over him had somehow prevented his suicide pill from working while keeping him alive and in agony.

"Yes I will-" Motohama shut his mouth midsentence when a spray of blood mist hit his face from the man's severed head. "Haaah… you do realise that you will be taking his place, don't you?"

"Your continued existence is a threat to Valper-dono, for that I will end you." A white haired youth in priest attire spoke as he approached Motohama, the Excalibur in his hands still glowing from where he'd fired off a beam to execute the assassin.

"Valper… and that's the Excalibur is it not… so the Choir are now in league with him eh? Figures, monsters tend to congregate together do they not? Oh well, it'll just make killing you all easier." Shrugging his shoulders, Motohama wasn't impressed by the enemy before him.

"You will not insult his excellency! The punishment for doing so is death."

"He is nothing more than a cowardly worm unfit to even lick my boots. Hahahahahah! What are you going to do about it boy? Let's see your resolve, shall we?"

Both holding their weapons at the ready, they charged at each other and the forest was soon filled with the sound of combat.

Meanwhile, Issei's familiar circled overhead, recording the fight and transmitting it back to his master.

* * *

Omake: Raynare's cooking

Gael walked into the makeshift living room to find Dohnaseek being completely destroyed by Mittelt in a game of Mortal Kombat, if his curses were anything to go by.

"You're getting your ass handed to you by a little girl, you should be ashamed."

"Eh shut up! I'd like to see do better." Dohnaseek cursed and threw his arms up as Mittelt obtained the fifth flawless victory in a row. His mood was hardly improved by her smiling cheekily and giving a peace sign.

A strange odour reached Gael's sensitive nose, he couldn't quite place it but it was coming from the kitchen. "Strange… is somebody cooking?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I think Kalawaner is in there…" Dohnaseek trailed off when the fallen angel in question came waltzing into the room, a bottle of wine in her hands. "This is some good stuff, way better than employee benefits back at HQ. And… why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"Weren't you in the kitchen cooking?" Dohnaseek paled as he asked.

"…Of course not. If you give me the I belong in the kitchen because I'm a woman crap, I will stab you." She hefted a light spear in her free hand to accentuate her point.

"If you're not in there, and we're out here…"

"The only one who could be cooking is…"

Dohnaseek and Gael exchanged a glance as their faces paled in horror.

""SHIT, RAYNARE!""

"What?" Kalawaner asked in confusion as the two males shot up in panic and made a mad scramble past her to reach the kitchen.

Wrenching open the door, noxious black fumes poured out of it and left the two of them sputtering for air. Eyes watering from the pain, they peeked in and to their extreme horror, they were just in time to watch the last of Raynare disappear down the gullet of… something.

Words failed to describe the monstrosity before them, some sort of abomination created from ingredients had come alive and just devoured its creator. It's roar shook the building and the werewolf and crow alike rushed to slam the doors shut.

Their sigh of relief was cut short when several piles of steaming unidentified goo punched straight through the solid steel door and narrowly missed their heads. They froze in terror and their panic only increased when the projectiles started to move and reform into smaller versions of the abomination behind the door.

"AHHHHRRGGHHHH! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

Dohnaseek's light spears and Gael's light pistols did nothing to stop the reforming masses, if nothing else, they seemed to be growing stronger. Backed up against the door as they were, both fell backwards when the door was torn off its hinges and into the kitchen.

The situation devolved into complete chaos as the duo made a mad dash for the exit, screaming all the way. Kalawaner and Mittelt were dragged into it as well once the beast started chasing them down for its next meal.

"Hello bossman?" Gael's phone started ringing midway through and since it was from Issei he had to pick it up. "Umm yeah, I can't make it to the school right now, Raynare's been cooking again."

"…"

"Umm can't you handle it for now bossman? It's kinda hard for me to leave right now."

"…"

He winced when Issei hung up on him before his face turned white as a sheet when a glob of food shot past him and smashed his phone to pieces in the process.

Jerkily turning his head towards the beast, he bore witness to the fallens' last stand and when it came for him too, the screaming started again.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 16** : Issei vs ?

Shadows flickered in the destroyed forest as sparks flared intermittently, the orange sky was already starting to give way to hues of indigo and violet. Bone spikes protruded from the ground randomly and trees had been annihilated in every conceivable manner, blown apart, sliced to pieces, shattered or knocked over. It was a scene straight out of the delusions of a madman.

Motohama's glasses shone in the dying light as he opened up his umbrella into a shield once more to block the incoming hail of bone bullets. Feeling the earth shift below him, he leapt upwards and avoided a fresh row of spikes erupting from the ground seeking to skewer him.

Upon landing, he folded the umbrella's ribs upwards and turned his shield into a large mace. Swinging the weapon, he shattered the offending spikes with one blow before pulling the sword out of its hilt and hurling the blade at his opponent.

As the white-haired man ducked, Motohama took the opportunity to close with him and swung violently with the mace. His offensive was halted by multiple spikes shooting out of his target's arm, forming a barrier that managed to dull the blow.

Sidestepping as that arm shot forwards with a bone blade extending from the palm, Motohama converted the weapon back into a lance and stabbed forwards again.

A small grunt was the only sign of his frustration as the bone wielder vanished in a burst of incredible speed and his stab came up short. Rapidly opening up his shield again, he managed to block a heavy hit from a bone lance before his opponent appeared inside his guard, sword already stabbing for his heart.

Feeling the sword strike home, Motohama gasped in pain as the tip of the sword sprouted from his back. He gasped again when his opponent twisted the blade further, copious amounts of blood leaked from the wound.

"For Valper-dono, you must die, blame only yourself for being and obstacle."

Motohama gave a bloody grin upon hearing those words before abruptly reaching up and grabbing onto the arm attached to the sword and pulling himself further onto the blade.

"Gotcha." Smoke rose from where he'd grabbed on as his blood started eating through armour and flesh, the damage spreading from the initial contact and rapidly destroyed the infected areas.

The white-haired exorcist managed to resist the urge to scream as his arm was being eaten away at a rapid pace. Gritting his teeth in pain, he activated the ability of Excalibur Rapidly and used the burst of speed to retract the sword and retreat immediately.

With one swing, he loped off the infected limb and stemmed the blood loss by sealing the wound with a layer of bone. He could only watch with horrified fascination as the severed limb withered and turned to dust.

Motohama arched his back and stretched before whipping out a vial of blood and injecting the contents into his leg. The gaping wound in his chest stopped bleeding and started to knit together as soon as he did so.

"What manner of beast are you? I stabbed you in the heart with Excalibur, you should be dead."

"Beast? I am a hunter of beasts, what your creators wish you were. I can sense it in you, Paleblood courses your veins as they do mine, but unlike me, it's killing you from the inside is it not?"

The white-haired assailant grunted in frustration before his body convulsed and a new arm made of bone sprouted from the sealed wound. Once more using Excalibur Rapidly to close with Motohama, he slashed away at the glasses wearing boy before being forced to retreat as Motohama didn't even bother dodging, instead trying to get hit so as to infect him once again.

Pain shot up his side as Motohama summoned his sword back to him, the silver blade spun like a buzz saw and hacked through his side before he could react, only sheer dumb luck kept him from being bisected then and there.

Shaky fingers withdrew a blood vial similar to the one Motohama used but he was unable to use it as the hunter never let up the assault.

Sensing that his prey was weak, Motohama pressed the advantage and ruthlessly struck for any weak points he saw. Alternating between the sword, lance, mace and occasionally the rifle, he scored several more injuries on his target.

Irritation fuelled his blows somewhat as the exorcist's ability to seal up any wound with bone to prevent blood loss made it hard to incapacitate him without a fatal strike. From the way his blows connected, he could tell that there was a layer of bone armour below the skin, protecting his opponent. While it wasn't strong enough to block against a direct strike, it effectively rendered any glancing blow null and void.

"Why, won't, you, go, DOWN!?" Punctuating each word with a stab, he finished with a brutal swing from the mace that sent the exorcist into a tree. He heard the sound of bone shattering but against an opponent with the ability to manipulate his own bones, that didn't mean much.

"I will not fall until I see Valper-dono's ambition realised." Rising to his feet, the exorcist took advantage of the lull in battle to inject himself with a blood vial and breathed easier once the damage to his internal organs started to heal.

He was going to resume his doomed offensive when a shadow dropped from the sky and landed before him. "We're done here! That son of a bitch is stronger than I thought, couldn't hold him off. Come on deep shit, we are leaving."

Before the exorcist could voice his objection, his compatriot hurled a flashbang into the sky and filled the area with blinding light. At the same time, he activated a magic circle around them and teleported away before a blue streak struck the area they were standing and completely devastated it.

Motohama coughed as a shower of dirt, wood chips and other debris rained down around him, making breathing difficult. "Damnit Issei! What the hell was that for!?"

Issei landed next to his buddy once the dust settled, a frown marring his face. "Sorry, bastard was trying to escape with one of the Excalibur fragments, Mistilteinn was the only weapon I had that had a chance of catching him."

"We have a problem." Motohama spat out the words in disgust. "The Choir is back, and they're working with Valper."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, one of his flunkies tried to kill me, possible product of the Sigurd institute and loyal dog of Valper. Problem is, he has fucking Paleblood in him and even though it's killing him from within, his condition is still holding stable. No sign of transformation into beast or kin, ability to wield bone notwithstanding."

Issei sighed upon hearing those words. "That blows… there's another cadre class fallen angel mixed into all this by the way."

"…Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed." Motohama murmured as he surveyed the devastation around him. "Never mind, who the hell was the joker who stole my prey?"

"An insane idiot who just wants to start a war for the fun of it, calls himself Shinn if you must know."

"Shinn?" That name struck a chord with the hunter. "Didn't you already kill him?"

"Yep. Don't know how he survived being decapitated but he's back as something called a chimera evidently. Standard fare really, wants revenge and a world war, signed on with the people capable of giving him both. What I'm more worried about is the Choir's endgame, there's no way they're here just to start a war, even if they are, it's just a means to an end."

Motohama shrugged his shoulders. "Don't ask me, that second rate imitation executed my informant before he could sing. Not much to do now except return and prepare for the rematch… got no way to track them yet."

Issei could do nothing but agree in silence, they'd found a way to circumvent his sensors and the only reason he caught on to their actions was due to him sending his familiar out to scout.

Motohama slung his weapon across his back in one swift motion before returning his attention to Issei. "I'm returning to the dream to prepare. Let's get this shit squared away before the karaoke session, we miss that and we'll never hear the end of it from Aika."

Issei sweatdropped at Motohama's words. "You have your priorities twisted you know that?"

"Do I? Maybe I do, in any case, you need anything from the dream?"

"More siderite would be useful, I'm still trying to integrate it with Sentinel's systems."

Motohama nodded once and grey bands of light formed around his body before it faded away into nothing, leaving Issei standing alone in the ruined forest. He took one last look around the place and sighed before muttering about how clean up would be a pain before warping away in a shower of blue sparks, never once noticing the lone eye watching him from atop one of the trees.

-line break

The next three days passed uneasily for both the devils and the exorcists, neither the Choir nor Kokabiel's forces had shown their faces at all. Motohama was still in the dream working and Matsuda was off on another mission for Aurelius.

Issei wished he'd have his support for the upcoming conflict but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. At the very least the baldy had left some 'presents' for him to hand out to Kokabiel and his men.

Both peerages had stepped up their training in preparation for all out conflict and the underworld's forces were on standby just in case the situation went to shit completely.

School had already ended for the day and both Issei and Kiba were headed for his warehouse base for a meeting. "Just a reminder but I have both fallen and members of the church in the base, while I don't really care for the building, the stuff inside is valuable, please don't break them."

"…I understand, but why aren't we searching for the Excaliburs? Valper is here somewhere."

"They'll come to us before we find them, no sense in wasting our energy hunting… plus, right now you're the sword guy and I need your opinion on a few matters." Issei answered as he unlocked the front door and allowed Kiba in.

"It's… big." Kiba was taken aback by how much larger the place was on the inside, instead of a cramped environment, the interior was unbelievably spacious… not to mention familiar. Issei had for all intents and purposes copied the entirety of Kuoh town inside his base, there was even a blue sky overhead. "How?"

"Eh, I've been meaning to redecorate for a while now but never really had a reason to, those freeloaders wrecking the place gave me the excuse." Issei shrugged and answered truthfully. "Maou-sama was more than willing to sponsor the upgrade… not a bad use for rating game technology, now is it?"

Kiba stared blankly at Issei. "You had Kuoh copied into an arena and used as your base."

"Pretty much. Aside from the equipment, everything else is disposable, I can field test superweapons here and reset everything with one button. Having it set to Kuoh also gives me the ability to test out strategies for real, there are a few other surprises built in but they're not important at the moment."

"Yo boss!" Raynare called out from the sky before landing in front of them. "The third exorcist has arrived and Kala-chan is back from HQ."

"And?"

"Kokabiel-sama has been awol for over a month now, most of his lapdogs are missing as well." Raynare shook her head in disgust as she spoke. "She couldn't find much on Valper other than he's with Kokabiel and is likewise missing."

"Boss…" A worried look crossed her face as she continued. "We're not going to have to fight Kokabiel… are we?"

"It shouldn't come to that, I won't force you to fight your brethren if you refuse to, I just ask that you help keep the collateral damage to a minimum in the event of open conflict. The plan is for the maou to deal with Kokabiel if he shows while we take care of his minions. In the even reinforcements are late, I'll keep him occupied."

"Got it boss." Raynare saluted with a look of relief before flying off.

"Will the plan actually work?" Kiba asked sceptically.

"In all honesty, probably not. No plan survives first contact with the enemy after all, and there are even more unknowns this time then with Jibril. In any case, let's settle one thing at a time yes? The exorcists are just up ahe-" Issei cut himself off as he felt a familiar presence coming from the replica of the church.

Kiba widened his eyes in shock as an incredible amount of killing intent burst forth from the pawn and he was left in the dust as Issei rocketed forwards with incredible speed, silver armour already forming around him.

Busting through the window, Issei landed in front of the three exorcists to the shock of Irina, Xenovia and their ally. Mistilteinn at the ready, he activated the twice critical boost to immediately bring the gun to full charge and jammed it into the hooded woman's face. "Die."

"NO ISSEI! DON'T!" Gael interrupted Issei's shot as he leapt in front of the barrel, forcing Issei to back down or blow his friend away along with his target.

"Get out of the way Gael, do you even know who you're protecting?" Issei said in a low tone belying the cold rage burning inside him.

"Yes, I do know bossman, please, put the gun down." Gael pleaded with Issei as he continued to stand in front of the exorcist with his arms outstretched, refusing to give the pawn a clear shot. By his side, Irina and Xenovia had already drawn their Excaliburs but were standing around unsure of what to do next.

"That bitch is Amelia. She's a member of the choir and the fucker who experimented on you." Issei's voice steadily rose as he spoke. "She's also the one who destroyed your eye in case you've forgotten."

A small twitch from the hooded exorcist was the only indication she heard those words and Gael stubbornly refused to budge. "No boss, I haven't forgotten. But I cannot let you kill her."

"Why? Do you want to kill her yourself? The finishing blow is all yours then." Issei said but made no move to lower his weapon.

"No boss, I don't want to kill her. I know she's made mistakes, but that's all in the past now." Gael spoke with determination and stared into Issei's eyes, his resolve unwavering. "I've already forgiven her and there is no way in hell I'm going to allow you to kill my fiancé."

Eyes widening in surprise at that tidbit, Issei continued pointing the railgun at the two for several moments more before lowering it and allowing both gun and armour to be reabsorbed into the sacred gear.

"Alright, you have five minutes to explain why a member of the Choir is in my base without being dead or chained to an operating table. If you can't give me a good reason, I start shooting."

Seeing that Issei wasn't about to start painting the walls with blood anytime soon, Gael breathed slightly easier and lowered his arms. "She's one of those who returned to the church after the Choir fractured. She's one of the good guys now."

Issei scoffed as his brain refused to register the nonsense spilling from Gael's mouth. "And you expect me to believe that? You think that just because she went back to the church crying and begging for forgiveness that absolves her of her sins? Her hands are stained with the blood of children, no punishment is great enough for her crimes."

"Our hands aren't clean either bossman, we've all had to do things that we aren't proud of."

"There is one key difference, we were forced to do what we did, she willingly did it all with a smile on her face. Bastard I may be, even I have lines I won't cross… she's completely devoid of them." Issei snarled in anger and glared at Amelia who finally raised her head to meet his eyes.

"I have made a lot of mistakes in the past silver wing, if my death would atone for them I'd gladly give up my life in a heartbeat. But my death will solve nothing, now I live to undo the damage I've caused. Even if doing good for the rest of my life won't be enough to make amends, I'm going to try anyway." Amelia never wavered once as she spoke.

Issei scowled before relenting. "…Fine. For Gael's sake, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but make no mistake, I do not trust you. You take one step out of line, you so much as even _try_ to experiment again, I will be there, and I will end you. And trust me, your death will be anything but swift and painless."

"Ano… Ise-kun, can you please not threaten our comrade?" Irina began to intercede on Amelia's behalf. "Ummm, I don't know what crime Amelia-san is guilty of but she's been cleared to join this mission by both the higherups and the archangels themselves. So um… can we all get along?"

Issei sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, Irina and Xenovia didn't look like they were aware of what exactly their precious comrade had been up to in the past. While he could fill them in on all the sordid details, such an action would cripple any cohesion between them and at this juncture was tantamount to suicide.

"Very well, but answer me this, some of your old colleagues have signed on with Kokabiel. Why."

"Whoa, that's unfair boss, she's been out of the loop for quite a-" Gael started only to be interrupted by Amelia mid-sentence. "If they're still following their ideals, they're after one of two things, the refined Paleblood in the hunter's body or a nexus they can use to rip open a portal to the nightmare where the great ones reside. Joining Kokabiel is just means to an end."

"…Makes sense, if they tried it on their own they'll just end up slaughtered. Having Kokabiel's backup increases their odds." Issei grudgingly accepted Amelia's reasoning.

"I don't follow. Who's this hunter, what's Paleblood and portal to a nightmare?" Kiba was completely lost at this point and his curiosity temporarily overshadowed his hatred of the church.

"The hunter is a friend, Paleblood in its base form is an elixir that puts phoenix tears to shame and when refined is the key to unlimited evolution. 'Nightmare' is the name of another plane of existence where beings of immeasurable power reside." Issei answered for the benefit of the three uninitiated.

"Needless to say, they must be stopped. Now a question, does anyone here have a method to deal with Kokabiel that doesn't involve destroying the entire town?"

Amelia drew a longsword from the scabbard hanging at her side and revealed a third Excalibur. "This is Excalibur Blessing, on its own it doesn't have the destructive power of Destruction or the utility of the other swords but it has the ability to strengthen those with faith. With it I can boost the combat ability of the Irina, Xenovia and any bloodhound in the area. It'll also weaken Kokabiel and his men since they stand in opposition to the lord."

Issei winced slightly once the blade was put on display as his arm started to ache again. "It's a start. Now I'm not too familiar with the blades but do they react with any other items?"

The three exorcists exchanged a glance before shaking their heads in confusion. "I've never heard of anything like that Ise-kun… well there is one weapon in legend that might react with the Excaliburs but there's no proof that weapon even exists."

Issei nodded at Irina's words before summoning his sacred gear and retrieving one of his holy daggers from them as well as the rusted blade from Hod. "Right, any of you recognise these then? Because both have been causing me pain every time an Excalibur is revealed in my presence.

"Hoh? The dagger is a holy weapon and a strong one at that, I can feel the aura from where I'm standing. How does a devil like you even have something like this? As for the other… it's just a rusty sword, I can't detect anything supernatural from it." Xenovia spoke up after studying the objects intently.

"The rusty sword is a gift and I forged the dagger myself even if it seems to still be incomplete."

Kiba picked up the rusty sword and examined it, using his expertise to appraise the blade. "It's a well-made sword, the balance is perfect and if the rust was cleaned off and the edge sharpened, it'd probably function as well as it did back when it was first made. It's not a sacred gear or a supernatural blade as far as I can tell... just a very well-made sword. But there is something about it that I can't quite put my finger on."

"I don't feel anything other than the aura from the dagger." Irina spoke and brought out her own Excalibur fragment to see if there would be any reaction. Issei was about to speak again when he heard a voice much to his surprise.

'Fix… us…'

"Di-did any of you hear that?" Issei frowned when he was met with uncomprehending gazes from five faces. "Hear what Ise-kun? I didn't hear anything."

The nods from the rest just confirmed that the voice was in his head.

"Never mind, must be getting tired." Issei shook his head and made a show of yawning even as the voice came back.

'Make us whole again…'

-line break

Issei snapped awake covered in cold sweat, staring at his clock that read 3.09 AM he cursed silently and carefully extricated himself from the tangle of limbs that was Asia and Rias who had snuck into his bed sometime during the night.

Splashing cold water onto his face, he gripped the basin hard enough that his knuckles turned white and looked at his reflection. Dark rings circled his eyes and they stood out prominently against his skin which had taken on a deathly pallor.

'Shit, again? Sentinel what the hell is going on?'

 **[Unable to conclude colonel.]**

Issei cursed and washed his face again, trying to rid himself of the tiredness seeping into his bones. A full week had gone by since the exorcists had shown up in search of the stolen Excaliburs and aside from the two skirmishes involving Kiba and Motohama, Kokabiel's forces had been strangely silent.

Issei was operating blind and the unease was eating at him. To make matters worse, ever since he'd seen the swords in person, he had yet to get a decent night's rest. His dreams were plagued with visions of blood and death set against the backdrop of a city in flames.

And those accursed eyes haunted him every moment of it, black sclera and glowing red irises… he felt sick just recalling them. Plus, there was the voice constantly asking him to 'fix it' even though he had no idea what he had to fix or how to go about doing it.

 **[Colonel, message from Motohama, he has returned from the dream and is requesting a meeting.]**

'He's back is he? Alright then, it's not like I'm getting any more sleep now anyway.'

Issei checked that his two roommates were still fast asleep before spreading his devil wings and flying out the open window.

The cool night air rushing past his wings did wonders to wake him up and that was the only thing that kept him from being knocked out of the sky by a shadow.

Arm blade already formed, he just barely managed to block a strike from a lance and his breath left him when the rest of his attacker's body crashed into him. Shadowy tendrils reached out and ensnared the pawn, restricting his movements and making it difficult for him to fight his way free.

Devil and unknown fell through the skies and came close to crashing hard on a random house when Issei gave a frustrated yell and warped the both of them away in a burst of sparks to a random marker, far away from Kuoh.

The sudden shock of having tremendous amounts of water pressure pressing down on both of them managed to force the two combatants apart.

Issei gave thanks that he was bonded with Sentinel otherwise the pressure would have crushed him completely, as it was it still hurt a lot but he had the time to shift into assault mode before it could be debilitating.

While his suit's sensors were still coming online, he lost sight of his opponent in the pitch-black waters of Challenger Deep. He might have been killed but a sinking feeling in his gut told him that that was just wishful thinking.

Sure enough his sensors screamed at him to dodge and he just barely made it out of the way of two pale streaks that sped past him with incredible speed and detonated against the ocean floor, sending up a cloud of dust and bubbles that obscured his vision further.

"Supercavitating torpedoes!? Who the hell has something like that!?" Issei swore a blue streak and made for the surface, he still didn't have any ranged options that would function at this depth and to his shame the combat spells he had at the moment were all restricted to melee range.

 **[Colonel, more torpedoes approaching, impossible to dodge.]**

"Ehh! Overcharge the shields, we'll just have to absorb the hits." Issei gave his command and a shimmering barrier of light formed around his armour as the suit dumped power into the energy shields.

Launching out of the bubble field, he was met with the sight of several streaks approaching him from multiple angles. Issei grit his teeth and brought his arms up into a cross as the first torpedo struck him head on.

The others followed up rapidly and the series of massive explosions forced him backwards, miraculously his shields held against the onslaught. "Shields are down to 13%, no time to replace the generator now. Sentinel, why can't I warp out of here?"

Issei queried as he made another break for the surface, avoiding two more fish in the process. The situation wasn't looking too good for him right now, his shield generator was busted and would not recharge as a result of overcharging.

Replacing it would take precious time that would leave him bereft of its protective barrier, and he'd already felt the power of those damned torpedoes. A direct hit from even one would instantly rupture his armour and sink him.

If he were on terra firma, the damage wouldn't be as much of an issue but this far down, the pressure would crush him completely before he could finish healing, especially if his unknown enemy didn't let up on his attacks.

 **[Connection to all markers is being jammed. Interference is coming from the unknown hostile.]**

"Shit." Issei narrowly avoided a series of torpedoes by pushing his boosters to the maximum and forcing his body sideways so the ordinance shot by harmlessly. Resuming his ascent, Issei noted that he was just about at the halfway point and his confidence was renewed, just a little more and he'd be able to take the fight to the skies.

When no more torpedoes tried to sink him, he allowed himself to feel a sense of accomplishment that he might have evaded pursuit.

That good feeling vanished just as the surface came into sight.

An incredible force slammed into him from behind and he found himself rocketing towards the surface but not under his own power.

Arm twisted painfully behind his back, Issei cursed vehemently before morphing the captured limb into a chainsaw and trying to hack down whatever was keeping him pinned. He could feel the blades cutting into something but there was no answering cry of pain nor was there any sign of the grip letting up.

Breaching the surface in a large spout of water, the interlocked combatants continued ascending. Issei ceased his futile struggles and grit his teeth before mentally commanding his arm to detach.

No longer tied to his limb, Issei rolled away in mid-air and fell back to the ocean while the shadow was left holding onto the severed arm. Issei grinned and activated the self-destruct sequence on the limb, turning it into a makeshift bomb.

Boosters igniting again, Issei shot off into the starry sky as a miniature sun blossomed into existence behind him. Silver metal flowed out from his shoulder and rapidly formed a new arm, flexing it a few times, Issei was glad to find that it was as good as new.

The new limb was immediately put to the test when a shadow burst out of the conflagration and rushed at him. Twin arm blades in a cross, the shadow collided with Issei and the pawn was once again forced backwards.

"What the hell!?" Issei exclaimed in surprise when he got his first good look at his opponent.

Dark grey armour covered with pulsing black veins covered his vision as an armoured gauntlet met his face while he was distracted. It was more angular than he remembered it, but the monstrosity before him was without a doubt a modified version of his own armour.

Dashing backwards as fast as possible to put some distance between them, Issei summoned multiple rocket turrets from his armour and fired off a barrage of micro-missiles. Hundreds of tiny specks of light swarmed the armoured figure and detonated harmlessly against an energy shield not unlike his own.

Issei paled inside his armour when his opponent returned the favour, only there were thousands upon thousands of the explosives. He pursed his lips and once more pushed the boosters to the maximum, flying backwards while trying to intercept the missiles with his own barrage and a wall of lead from twin miniguns on his arms.

A long line of flames marked where he succeeded but there were just too many of them to completely intercept. The pitiful remains of his shield shattered under the multiple impacts and the solid plate of titanium he summoned at the last second only afforded him a few seconds more defence before it to was ruptured.

Thick black smoke obscured his person as several secondary explosions continued within the cloud and Issei's limp body fell from the sky, armour virtually non-existent now. Bleeding from multiple wounds, Issei's mind was in a daze as Sentinel worked overtime to fix up the internal injuries and rid him of his concussion.

Seconds before he would have hit the water surface at terminal velocity, Issei snapped awake and reformed his armour and reignited the boosters. Skimming the water's surface, he flew in a zigzag pattern and avoided being struck by enemy fire.

A quick glance behind told him that his opponent was holding stationary in the air while shooting at him with shoulder mounted canons. Issei pulled back abruptly and allowed the shells to strike the water in front of him, the resulting plume of water hiding him from view.

As gravity did its work, a blue streak of plasma burst out of the water with a thunderous roar and impacted against the armoured figure in the sky, breaking through his shields and blasting his arm off in the process.

Issei's form came back into view and his railgun was already crackling with electricity as the next full powered shot was rapidly charged with the boost from the twice critical. Locking onto the falling figure, Issei pulled the trigger and watched as his shot hit home. A direct hit to the face from a projectile traveling at mach 12 essentially erased his target's torso without so much as a fine red mist marking its passing.

Instead of rejoicing though, his heart fell when he witnessed the remains disappearing in a burst of shadows and blue sparks. The next thing he knew, an armoured fist had introduced itself to his helm and sent him careening backwards.

Raising his arm to block a follow up round house kick, Issei was caught off guard when multiple shadow tendrils extending from the black veins and latched on to his arm. Unable to resist the incredible force, he was pulled along with the limb and received a kick from the other leg in the process.

Pain blossomed in his chest after the kick and his body skipped across the surface of the ocean after the shadow tendrils released him. Righting himself with his boosters, Issei switched out the Mistilteinn for his miniguns and fired a salvo of white hot lead.

In a show of ability, the grey figure avoided the bullets in a surprising show of aerial acrobatics that left even Issei impressed. His admiration vanished along with whatever was left of his confidence when the counterattack began.

"Fuck me." Issei just managed to get those words out when he found himself staring down a very, very familiar gun barrel. A last-minute dodge kept his body from being annihilated completely but he was still dealt a glancing blow.

Hacking up blood into his visor, Issei's vision blurred as he just barely managed to remain airborne while his body's self-repair systems kicked in. The blue streak of lightning and plasma had completely obliterated his side and he lost nearly half his torso in that Mistilteinn strike.

 **[Colonel, metal supplies nearly exhausted, the next hit like that will completely deplete materials for self-repair. Any more damage to core systems after that-]**

"Will be fatal… yeah I kinda figured that." Issei managed to speak as the delirium left him. Jetting backwards as his body reformed, Issei decided to gamble every last bit of scrap metal he could spare without compromising his healing ability and spawned as many weapons as he could.

Gritting his teeth and leaving targeting up to Sentinel, Issei fired off his last barrage, countless missiles and bullets streaked towards his enemy, the light show indicating the single largest strike he'd ever executed on anyone.

To his great disbelief, none of his rounds landed. The unknown managed to close with him rapidly while simultaneously dodging every single round with unnatural grace and speed. He winced when a hand landed on his weapon and crushed it without any effort and more shadows leapt from his opponent to him, ensnaring him instantly. His attempt at using magic to blast his way free fizzled out as something about the unknown prevented him from even reaching for the power.

Locked in place, he could do nothing as the shadow wielder brought his own visor up to meet his, melting into shadow and receding into the rest of the armour, Issei's struggles ceased as soon as he beheld what lay beneath it.

Issei found himself staring at Issei

Corrupted and twisted it may have been, it was still his own face glaring back at him. Red irises surrounded by black sclera glowed in the darkness and multiple crack-like black veins spread away from his eyes. His face was far paler than any normal human and his hair had been dyed pitch-black. Razor sharp teeth bared in a snarl, the other began growling.

" ******** **! **** ** ** ******* ****? *** ** * ***** ***? *** ** * ***** **** ** ****!?"**

Issei's head started to hurt as soon as the other started speaking. He groaned in pain and belatedly noticed that his nose had started to bleed. His eyes told him that the other wasn't speaking some foreign language that somehow defied both Sentinel's and his devil ability to translate, it was his own tongue but his brain refused to process the information.

'S-Sentinel… d-do something.'

 **[Neural activity is spiking, cause unknown. Auditory sensors have been disabled, I will translate his words colonel. 'Answer me! What is my purpose here? Who do I fight for? Why do I still hurt so much!?']**

"H-how the hell should I know? You're the one who attacked me without reason."

 **['Lies!']**

The other refused to accept Issei's words and delivered several powerful punches to his face, cracking his visor in an attempt to force the answers out of him.

 **['You must have answers! Who am I fighting for? How do I make the pain stop? Tell me. TELL ME!']**

The other stopped punching Issei only to grab him by the throat and start shaking him like a ragdoll. "I DON'T KNOW DAMNIT! IF YOU JUST STOPPED ATTACKING I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU!"

The shaking stopped after that as the other brought his face close to Issei's once more.

 **['You can?']**

Hope was written across his features and the other looked so vulnerable for a moment. Issei was about to promise his aid when the other's face contorted with wrath.

 **['You lie, you lie! No, no no no no nononononono! My head… it hurts, IT HURTS! DIEEEE!']**

Issei was sent flying by a strike that instantly pulverised his insides as the other descended into madness and began alternating between insane ranting, laughing and crying. The light of insanity burned in his unholy crimson orbs and the Mistilteinn formed in his arm again.

The other laughed while tears of black blood streamed down from his eyes as he pointed the railgun at his counterpart, the weapon already glowing and crackling with lightning, signalling imminent discharge.

Issei's heart sank at the sight, more than anyone else in the world he knew what the railgun was capable off and stuck in freefall as he was, he didn't have a prayer. Narrowing his eyes at his would be killer, Issei refused to close his eyes, if he was to die he would meet it like a man.

A thin blue line split the night sky and the mighty roar of thunder followed several seconds later. Issei widened his eyes in surprise when the light found its way to the other, striking him in the chest and scattering whatever was left across the ocean.

His downwards descent was arrested by a hand roughly gripping his shoulder and hauling him upwards.

"Alright Issei, mind explaining what the hell is going on? And correct me if I'm wrong but I just shot you out of the sky, didn't I?" Issei paused to catch his breath before directing his attention to his rescuer. Clad in a futuristic suit of armour he didn't recognise, he was being kept aloft by multiple ports that constantly emitted a green light.

"Fuck am I glad to see you Matsuda, hell you doing here? I thought you were on a mission."

"I was, field test some new equipment over open ocean, no collateral damage that way. Imagine the admiral's surprise when your signal showed up at the bottom of the ocean. Being the only asset in the area, I was drafted to investigate. Now you mind explaining why you were kicking your own ass? Not that it wasn't interesting to watch and all but this is a whole new level of weirdness even for you." The baldy shot back nonchalantly.

"Hell if I know, son of a bitch attacked me back in Kuoh, couldn't break free so I warped us to a random point. That, was a mistake. Whatever he is, I can't beat him."

Matsuda favoured Issei with an odd look. "It's unlike you to just admit defeat like that, please don't tell me I shot down the wrong Issei."

"That… thing… is me on steroids. He's stronger, faster and far better equipped than I am. He has the bloody Mistilteinn for crying out loud, everything I can do, he can do better. Not to mention he can jam my teleportation and my magic. Asshole hits like a truck while I'm lucky to do scratch damage with anything short of the railgun." Issei admitted in an angry tone, being so completely outclassed at what he believed were his unique strengths didn't sit well with him.

"…Well… he's dead now at least, we can get you patched up at base."

Issei deadpanned and gave Matsuda a pointed look that spoke volumes about just how stupid he found that statement. "If I'm at a 100%, would a railgun hit kill me?"

"…Fuck."

"Yeah, no way the bastard's dead. Be careful man, he can warp just like I can and he doesn't need a marker for it. You got any spare metal? I'm out, no metal, no healing, no weapons."

Matsuda started swearing in seventeen different languages when he heard Issei's request. Grumbling all the way, he detached several compartments from his suit and handed it to Issei. "These are all I've got to spare, they're some of the new tech from R&D. Since you have to assimilate them to use the metal, I can't stop you, but try not to use the weapons until we work out all the kinks yeah? Some of the stuff might turn Kuoh into the next Chernobyl if you're not careful."

"Understood." Issei nodded his assent and silver metal spread from his arms onto the containers, enveloping them and absorbing it back into his body. Issei felt the knowledge of how to form the new weapons encode itself into his brain but he shelved that thought for the time being, opting instead to reform his armour silently.

Issei was about to speak again when he was suddenly pushed out of the way by Matsuda, the other's arm blade slicing through the air where he'd just been.

The devil narrowed his eyes as both he and his comrade flew in opposite directions, keeping the other in between them.

When his blades failed to score a hit on either boy, the other started cackling madly and countless missile pods formed from his armour, launching an omni-directional barrage that targeted nothing and everything.

Issei and Matsuda dodged as best they could, shooting down the ones they couldn't. Launching skywards, Issei weaved between the explosives and retaliated with a shot from the Mistilteinn, frowning when the shell shattered harmlessly against the other's energy shield.

 **[Colonel, hostile's shields are too strong to be breached by anything less than a fully charged shot. Recommendation, avoid discharging early to inflict maximum damage.]**

'Yeah, that's not going to work, a full charge takes too long or too much energy to use, we'll be sitting ducks after that.' Issei was spared a counterattack from his twisted clone courtesy of Matsuda firing a rocket at the clone and shattering his shields in a burst of green lightning.

The shockwave sent the other tumbling and in his uncontrolled flight presented a target for Matsuda's lightning bolts. Tossing several bus-sized ones at him, the major followed up with another rocket, swallowing the body in a giant blast of energy.

"No better way to field test the new weapons than to use them in actual combat huh?" His ruminating was cut short by the other appearing right behind him in a mix of shadows and sparks, arm blade already at the ready to impale him.

A blue bolt from Issei's smoking railgun averted that fate and once more the unknown was blown to pieces, ready to reform elsewhere. Switching the gun into a blade again, Issei slashed at his copy as soon as he materialised in front of him.

Sparks flared as their blades met repeatedly, neither giving an inch. As they fought in the air, Issei was forced to replace his blades repeatedly as cracks would start to form on them after a few blows, the shadows encasing his opponent's swords weakening and corrupting his own to the point that they became brittle.

Support fire from Matsuda gave him a break as his copy was forced away. Issei took a deep breath, his body shuddering as he did so. Pain wracked his body as just being in close proximity to the clone was starting to hurt.

 **[Colonel, your body's cells are starting to break down. Recommendation, immediate disengagement.]**

'Can't do that Sentinel, unless we win here I don't think he'll leave us alone.' Issei hovered in place, watching Matsuda and the other duke it out in the skies, tracer rounds and missile contrails with the occasional railgun blast splitting the sky even as a dull glow became visible on the horizon.

'Dawn's breaking, we need to wrap this up now. Sentinel, Gestalt mode now.'

 **[Colonel, that course of action is unwise, even with our strengthened bond, your body is too weak to withstand a fusion for very long.]**

'Just do it, we don't sync, we don't beat this guy. Matsuda can't hold him off forever.'

 **[Understood, syncing now.]**

Issei shivered as the sensation of cold water being pumped through his veins spread throughout his body and his battered organs screamed in protest. The pain itself faded away in short order as his body changed into one made of living metal.

 **[Gestalt sync at 83%, unable to push higher due to current condition.]**

'It will have to do.' Issei redirected his attention to the battle again and frowned. Matsuda and the other were pretty evenly matched but the major was slowly losing ground on account of not having the nigh unlimited ammo the other could field. 'Deactivating assault mode limiters now.'

Issei coughed once as his nose began bleeding. His armour glowed red and started emitting gold light from the seams and joints. 'Performance increased by 200%, I'll leave the processing to you.'

Without waiting for Sentinel's reply, Issei launched towards his copy at hypersonic speeds, ramming himself into the other's body while he was stuck in a blade lock with Matsuda.

Catching the other off guard, Issei launched into a vicious series of attacks, slashing wildly with his blades while unloading every firearm he could spawn before finishing with a direct shot from the Mistilteinn at pointblank range.

Already in motion before the plasma trail had time to dissipate, Issei used his increased speed and reaction times to evade the other's attempts to retaliate and once more resumed his barrage. Matsuda chimed in with his own rockets and summoned a shower of lightning bolts from the sky to assist while the copy fired off his omni-directional missile attack and the trio welcomed the dawn with an unending series of explosions.

 **[Colonel, Gestalt sync at 47%. Contact with hostile is weakening the link. Estimated operational time left 5 min.]**

'Shit. We just have to end this quick then.' Issei weaved his way through another volley before placing both arms together and warping the blades into a giant lance and charging the other head on. 'He's slowing down, just a bit more and we'll win!'

Slamming into the other with the point of his lance, Issei forced his copy backwards as his thrusters pushed themselves beyond their limits, tiny cracks forming in the armour due to the strain.

Insane laughter left the corrupted Issei's mouth as the lance tip breached his still recovering shields and buried itself in his chest before exploding out the back. Ditching the arm blades, he grabbed onto the weapon and against the expectations of everyone, pulled himself further onto the weapon even as living shadows surged out from the wound.

Issei cursed when he realised the error he made, this dark, twisted copy of him wasn't like any of the opponents he'd faced in the past and in the heat of the moment he'd forgotten that fact. Trying to insert Sentinel's substance into his opponent and destroying the body from within didn't work and he was now trapped simply because he failed to account for the possibility that his copy might have Sentinel's abilities as well.

 **['I WIN! I win I win I win I win. Ahahhaahahahahahahaha! Now you, will ANSWER!']**

With an unbelievable amount of strength, the copy sunk his fingers into the lance and ripped it in two, separating Issei's limbs without any effort at all. With most of his attention absorbed by his copy's demented face looming over his, he was only just barely aware of Matsuda cursing in the background when his attempts to assist were blocked by the massive outpouring of shadows that formed a barrier around the two.

Issei's head spun when his copy repeatedly headbutted him, eventually shattering his helm and leaving his face exposed. Locked in place by his copy's godlike strength and the shadowy tendrils, he was powerless to resist as he was headbutted one last time, his twisted copy laughing maniacally as he slammed their heads together and held it there.

Pain assaulted every fibre of his being as a presence both indescribably alien and intimately familiar invaded his mind. Issei wanted to scream but he was completely paralysed and unable to do anything but allow the presence to ransack his mind, not even Sentinel could stop the invasion.

Memories that weren't his own poured through him, images, sounds, smells, emotions, so much of it ran through his head that he would have passed out if it wasn't for the other's presence keeping him conscious. Much of it he didn't understand but what he did get painted a disturbing image and it took all his willpower to resist the tide and maintain his own identity.

With a supreme act of will, Issei fought to impose order on the memories trying to wash him away.

-line break

I was born from the shadow to uphold the light. With the might of chaos I would bring order to the land of eternal war.

Countless victories, innumerable defeats, enemies ground to dust beneath my heel and friends laid to rest on yet another nameless battlefield.

The world burned in the flames… I burned in the flames.

The silence of death, the sound of peace, intervals between peace or intervals between wars… I know not.

I fought for freedom, for myself, for my friends… for my family. The chains of fate will not hold me.

I will not stop until I have achieved perfect self-determination and… and…

I no longer remember what else I fought for, what else I existed for.

The unknown hurts.

I've fought for so long now I don't even remember my own name.

I know what I am, I am a half-forgotten memory, clinging on to existence by a thread.

The world no longer has need of me, I should fade away… but I guess it still needs me for one last mission.

They called me back from oblivion, men of the Choir in a place called Tokyo.

Both were… are familiar to me.

I know this land, I know them and I know not to trust them.

Why? I do not know.

Subject 600 they called me, the only one to survive essence injection, whatever that means.

I saw him in a dream, one so much like me yet so different.

Silver arms and armour glowing in the morning sun, light shone from his being.

I know him. He is my… he is my…

I no longer remember, I must find out.

The Choir promised that I'd be able to meet him if I followed them to a land called Kuoh.

That name invokes happiness in me, I should have fond memories of that place… why I do not know.

I will go along with them, I will meet the other, and there I will have my answers.

Why do I exist? Why do I fight? Who am I supposed to be fighting for?

AH! I remember now! I am…

-line break

Issei was rapidly pulled back into the waking world as his copy was ripped from him by one of Matsuda's weapons. A powerful suction tried to draw him in as well but a strong grip prevented him from being sucked in.

"I… I… what?" Issei asked in a daze, his mind was still reeling from the alien thoughts rampaging through his mind, the insane screams of the other didn't help much.

"Damnit Issei! Pull yourself together and fire your goddamned thrusters or we're both gonna die!"

Matsuda's forceful words brought him back into full alertness and the first thing he noticed was his copy's form being warped by what appeared to be a miniature black hole.

"What!?"

"Awake are you!? Fire your blasted thrusters! My suit alone doesn't have enough power to get us both out of the gravitational well. We cross the event horizon and we're both screwed, I can't warp us out of that!"

Issei pushed any lingering questions out of his mind and obeyed Matsuda's commands, igniting his boosters and together they managed to pull away from the tear in the fabric of reality.

After a few seconds of painfully slow progress, they managed to pull away and watched as the blackhole imploded and winked out of existence, taking the copy with it.

"What the hell was that?"

"Singularity grenade, the closest you'll ever get to a weaponised blackhole, probably ever. I don't think the son of a bitch is coming back from that. In any case, you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine." Any further words from Issei was cut off when a transmission from Laserbeak came in.

 **[Master, Kokabiel and his men have begun the assault on Kuoh. I have activated the preliminary counter response but I do not have the authority to activate the rest. Your allies are already engaging hostiles, please return asap.]**

Issei cursed as the situation took a turn for the worse. "Damnit, this must have been their plan from the beginning." He tried to jet off but was halted by Matsuda.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going? You're in no condition to fight, you look like you're about to drop actually." True to the baldy's words, Issei was in bad shape. His Gestalt mode had already worn off and the damage from both his battles, the limiter release and the desync coupled with whatever the copy had done to him had taken their toll.

"I don't have time for this, Kuoh is under attack. I'm needed there."

"You leave now and you'll just die for nothing, you're out of supplies and hardly fit for combat. No, you will be resting on the Vengeance."

"But!"

"But nothing idiot, I will go. You just rest up and resupply, once you're back at a 100% you can return to the front. Between Motohama and myself plus whatever aid your buddies can give, Kuoh won't fall that easily."

"I… I… very well." Issei bowed his head in acceptance of the logic in Matsuda's argument and allowed himself to be led back to the assault carrier serving as Federation HQ. His vision began to fade before he even hit the deck as the strain on him proved greater than anticipated and the adrenaline flushed out of his system.

Staggering about like a drunk, Issei's last memory was that of Matsuda placing him on a stretcher and saluting before flying off into the morning sky.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 17** : Kuoh under siege part 1

A bright orange dawn greeted Kuoh, partly from the rising sun and partly from the flames burning the town to ash. While the fallen angel himself was nowhere to be seen, his men had launched an all-out assault on the town as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon.

Fires raged unchecked and despite the efforts of the devils and Issei's allies as there were just too many to stop. The entire situation was completely surreal to Haruna and she just about had a heart attack once she saw the situation her beloved hometown was in.

She had been awoken minutes before by a massive blast coming from the school, things went to hell in a handbasket shortly thereafter and only the voice of Issei's familiar coming in over her communicator kept her from a panic attack.

Despite the less than ideal circumstances surrounding her brother's transformation into the man he was today, Haruna fervently gave thanks that he was paranoid enough to set up countless contingency plans for every situation… including this one.

Concentrating hard, she focused her demonic power into her hands and willed it to obey her commands. With a shout, she launched the ball of green light and watched in satisfaction as it shattered into several homing particles mid-flight, each seeking out and striking down a fallen angel.

She winced when one of them crashed through her neighbour's house and caused the weakened structure to collapse in on itself.

"Um… Laserbeak was it? Just to confirm but all this damage won't actually affect the real Kuoh will it?" She asked in slight apprehension.

" **Affirmative, this town in nothing more than an imitation currently occupying the space of the original. The real Kuoh is being stored inside master's pocket dimension and any damage to his base can be fixed up once the conflict is over, no need to hold back here."**

"Thank you very much Laserbeak-san."

" **You are very welcome Lady Haruna. A squad of four fallen angels are approaching your position, they do not appear to be aware of you yet, kindly be on your guard."** Laserbeak's oddly mechanical yet polite voice came through once more, warning her of imminent danger.

Haruna grit her teeth and furrowed her brows, feeling the surge in power as the boosted gear activated again. Taking a page out of her younger brother's book, she hid in the shadows and suppressed her presence as much as possible.

The quartet passed overhead silently in search of prey and twin green beams engulfing half their number was the first sign something had gone terribly wrong. As the smoking bodies fell from the sky, the remaining duo started searching frantically for their assailant.

When both had turned away from her, Haruna took a deep breath and charged one of the remaining fallen angels and slammed the gauntlet into his face with all her might, dropping the hapless grunt like a brick.

The fourth member was slightly harder for her to defeat, once her cover was blown, he immediately began tossing as many light spears as he could while backing away in a panic.

Lacking the experience of the other devils, she didn't have much choice other than to brave the assault and hope her shields would last long enough to take him down.

Fortunately, her opponent only had two wings and the supercharged shield generator given to her by Issei prevented any of the spears from breaking through and she managed to reach him before he could escape.

Grabbing hold of the fallen, she kneed him in the stomach repeatedly until his body went limp before tossing him aside like a sack of potatoes. She didn't have time to celebrate her victory however as her shields flared when several bullets bounced of it.

Swinging round to face her new aggressors, she beheld a small squadron of priests in white robes carrying a flintlock pistol and a walking stick of all things. She was about to attack when Laserbeak's voice came in over her comms again.

" **Lady Haruna, please avoid engaging them. They are hunters of the Choir and Master has instructed me to warn off any of the devils from engaging them. They are to be left to the bloodhounds and the bloodwalker."**

"Wha? I can take them!" Haruna retorted in indignation, these men were threatening everything she ever cared for and running away without a fight did not sit well with her.

" **My deepest apologies Lady Haruna, but master's instructions were clear. Choir agents do not play fair and right now only the bloodhounds and the bloodwalker have experience dealing with them."**

As though seeking to prove him right, the Choir agents holstered their pistols once they noticed that bullets were having no effect on Haruna before whipping out a small orb. Aiming it at the devil, the orbs emitted an azure light before firing small meteors that detonated as soon as they came within several feet of her.

Not expecting the sudden attack, Haruna was buffeted by shockwaves and nearly sent spiralling out of control before she had the sense to pull away from them.

Giving thanks to the maou that the attacks weren't all that accurate, she decided that discretion was the better part of valour and used her wings to vacate the area as per Laserbeak's advice. On her way out, she spied several shadows approaching the enemies she left behind and a small grin spread across her face as the incoming bloodhounds outnumbered the Choir agents three to one at least.

A new message came in from Issei's familiar directing her to the assistance of one of the allied fallen who was currently besieged by a small army of rouge exorcists.

Acknowledging the command, she flew off towards the arcade, shooting down several hostile fallen in the process with her dragon shot.

 **[You've reached the eighteenth boost, this is as far as your body can go before the boosts start to take their toll.]**

'Alright Ddraig… I see the arcade, let's do this.'

Flying high above the battlefield, she was still suppressing her aura to the best of her ability and her lack of threatening gestures along with the chaos raging below meant none of the stray looked up to see her.

[Explosion!]

A massive rush of power surged through her body and she felt almost giddy with the sheer amount of energy at her disposal. A large grin manifested itself and she had to fight hard to resist the urge to break out in laughter.

"Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to do this."

Placing both hands by her waist, she focused the energy coursing through her into a ball and held it there as the power built.

 **[Partner! Wait, don't-]**

"Kame… hame… HA!"

Thrusting out both arms, she fired a beam of pure destructive power down on the unsuspecting exorcists. They never stood a chance and the explosion that followed shook all of Kuoh as though an earthquake had suddenly struck.

"Ahhahahahahhaah! I am awesome!" Throwing her head back in laughter, she looked away from the devastation as the large amounts of black smoke made it difficult to see anything at all.

Descending to the ground, she approached the battered arcade and called out to whoever had taken shelter inside.

"Hello? It's safe now, err… I'm Haruna, one of the devils and Issei's brother!" After a few moments of silence, a familiar two winged figure popped out from the ruins. "Hoh? I'm surprised it's you… no hard feelings from the last time eh? Ahahaha…"

Raynare calmly walked over to the devil and gave a low whistle when she witnessed the pure devastation Haruna had wrought, she didn't think the girl had it in her.

"Oh… it's you…" Issei's sister narrowed her eyes at the fallen, she hadn't forgotten just what the crow had put her through. Raynare for her part just gave a twitching smile while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, laughing nervously all the while. "Um… I'm sorry?"

Haruna was about to tear into the fallen for the Asia fiasco when her enhanced senses detected a strange smell. "What the hell is that smell?"

 **[Partner… I don't think you should look.]**

"Er… that is uh… I think you should go inside and erm take a break. Yes! Take a break inside."

Oblivious to Ddraig and Raynare's sudden apprehension, the Sekiryuutei turned her head back towards the devastation she wrought and promptly brought her hands up to her mouth as she fought down the rising bile.

Raynare just looked on as her saviour lost the battle and immediately bent over to void the remains of yesterday's dinner. Neither she nor the dragon sealed in the boosted gear said anything as the weight of her actions sunk in.

Much of the thick smoke had cleared, leaving the blast crater visible. Nearly everything in it had been vaporised by Haruna's overpowered attack, but a few of the exorcists had been slightly more armoured than the rest and several body parts survived the strike and lay scattered around the area.

The carnage was more than a little too much for Haruna and she sunk to her knees as a fresh wave of nausea overtook her. "This is… I didn't… I… I... I…"

Haruna trailed off as the realization that she just exterminated over a dozen living breathing humans like rats sank in. When she'd fired off her attack she'd only been concerned with winning and playing out a childhood fantasy.

The exorcists never saw it coming and their lives had been snuffed out in an instant without any of them even having the chance to surrender. And what terrified her the most was that she didn't even care about them when she attacked, her own callousness shocked her to the core and that realisation brought another round of retching.

"I… I'm a murderer." She whispered out in a soft voice before she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Raynare standing over her with a look of sympathy. "First kill huh? Are… are you going to be okay?"

Raynare's act of concern woke Haruna from her stupor and she steeled herself, forcing her mind to get back in the game. She'd have time to mourn the dead and regret her actions later… if there was a later. Kuoh was still under siege and she didn't have time for self-pity.

"I-I'm fine, I'm fine… w-what are you doing here anyway?"

"Uh… right! Boss tasked me with defending one of the keystones, there's supposed to be a bunch of werewolves backing me up but they've been delayed." The fallen noticed the Sekiryuutei's unwillingness to ponder on her actions and went along with changing the subject.

In all honesty she didn't think that bottling up her emotions like that was a good idea but if it kept the girl on her feet she'd go along with it. Issei would skin her alive if she just stood by and watched after all.

"Keystones?" It was testament to Haruna's willpower that she managed to force herself to calm down and focus on the matter at hand.

"Yep, there are several keystones located around this replica city that keep the real Kuoh in the boss's pocket dimension, if more than three of them are destroyed, the real Kuoh starts to come back and well… that's not gonna end well."

Haruna blinked in surprise at Raynare's honesty before hardening her eyes. "That cannot be allowed to happen, what about the others?"

"As far as I know they're all secure for now, this one here is the only one exposed, I don't know if the enemy knows to target these stones yet but I can't leave it up to chance. Holding this place might be a bit difficult but I should be fine unless Kokabiel or one of the Excalibur wielders show up."

Haruna lowered her head and thought the situation over, on the one hand she didn't want to stick around the site of her atrocity, but on the other, the situation was bigger than any personal worries she might have. If the keystones fell the real Kuoh would return and innocents would be endangered by the conflict.

"…Fine, I'll stick around to help you. The keystone cannot be allowed to fall."

"Y-you will? Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but doesn't your king need you? The boss has been a no show for a few hours now, like it or not in his absence you are one of the heavy hitters… you sure you can stick around here?"

Haruna nodded her head at Raynare's question. "If the keystones are what's keeping the town from being destroyed then protecting it is far more important than running around. R-right now Kokabiel and his key players haven't appeared yet, buchou's plan is to stop as many strays as possible before they make their entrance. The others are scattered around town fighting wherever they can."

"Alright then, if you're sure about that, umm… go rest up for a bit."

"I'M FINE!"

"…"

"Sorry."

"All due respect girl, you are anything but fine. Go in and rest, I can't sense any enemies and Issei's little birdie will inform us if they're closing in. No sense in wasting your energy now, especially when you're a hell of a lot more valuable than I am. I will keep watch. Now. Go. Rest."

 **[Listen to the fallen partner, your emotions are still haywire and if you want to protect the town you need to be at your best. Fighting Kokabiel is no laughing matter.]**

"R-right Raynare-san." She bowed in gratitude to the fallen who just waved it off with a bashful expression. 'I just hope everyone else is doing ok.'

As the Sekiryuutei headed inside to sort out her emotions, Raynare's face hardened as she spotted a handful of rogue fallen approaching from the skies. "Whaddaya know, me a traitor to my own kind and now I have to cut down other traitors… damnit all."

Raynare closed her eyes and exhaled, her aura started to rise as she did so. When she snapped her eyes open again, four additional wings burst out of her back and her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I happen to like the peace here in Kuoh, anyone who would threaten it, fallen or otherwise aren't welcome."

Taking off with a mighty flap of her wings, she shot off to engage the enemies. Forming countless magical circles in the air around her, she unleased a blast of gale force winds towards the rogue fallen before adding a burst of flame to the wind.

As she introduced everything in her path to an inferno straight from the pits of hell, she summoned an entire array of light spears in the air. Snapping her fingers once, she sent them all towards the survivors in one volley, impaling most of them.

The three who managed to escape both attacks found themselves facing a determined six winged fallen angel in a melee.

The first was stabbed twice with twin light swords before being bisected when Raynare ripped the blades free. The remaining two were shocked by the violence and the second bit the dust when Raynare hurled one of her light swords straight into his face.

The third dodged the light sword before summoning his own and trying to take on Raynare in the air. "YOU! You're the treacherous bitch Raynare! You're the one who got Lord Jibril killed!"

"Hi pot, I'm kettle." Raynare shot back in a voice full of venom. "Jibril was a mad man just like your master, and like Jibril, he will die trying."

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU'RE JUST A WORTHLESS FALLEN WITH ONLY ONE PAIR OF WINGS! YOU WEREN'T EVEN FIT ENOUGH FOR THE FRONTLINES."

Raynare gave a self-deprecating laugh upon hearing that. "So I was, thanks to the boss though, I now have three pairs while you only have two."

With a sudden burst of speed, Raynare caught her opponent off guard and cleanly sliced off the wings on his left side, eliciting a shriek of pain from him.

"And now you're down to one pair. I'd say this isn't personal, but I'd be lying." Revulsion filled her when the wounded fallen started begging for mercy, claiming to turn over a new leaf if she just spared her, all his earlier vitriol gone and his face a mask of remorse.

'Damn, how pathetic. I wonder, if the boss didn't take me in, would I have wound up like that?' Not sparing her opponent another thought, she stabbed him in the stomach and amped up the power to the maximum, effectively cooking him from the inside.

A sharp odour reached her nose and she wrinkled it in distaste when she realised the man had voided his bowels in fear at the last moment. Allowing her light weapon to fade away, she allowed her former comrade to fall unceremoniously.

Her eyebrow twitched when she noticed yet another flight approaching from the east. "No rest for the wicked huh? Fine by me." Igniting her weapons again, she rushed off into battle once more, a battle cry on her lips.

-line break

"Ara ara, ganging up to bully two girls? How naughty, I'll punish you for that~" Akeno spoke with a sadistic grin while Rias just sighed and shook her head at her queen's antics. "Akeno… don't antagonise our enemies please."

"Hai buchou~" Despite saying that, her expression was completely unrepentant and Rias gave up trying to convince her to act otherwise. They were surrounded on all sides by a veritable army of stray exorcists and all of them were just chomping at the bit to cut down the devils.

"Damned devils, looking down on us like that. Kill them." The apparent leader of the strays was less than pleased that the devils were hardly perturbed by his encirclement and gave the order to attack. With a chorus of roars, his men mobbed towards the duo, a tidal wave of black with glowing light swords.

"Fufufu, how foolish." Akeno spoke with an innocent smile before the figures of both devils melted away like an illusion, leaving a crowd of confused exorcists looking around for their targets.

They didn't have to wait for long before multiple earth walls sprung up around them, boxing them in, a sudden downpour of rain followed up and drenched them all.

"Ara… is this what Issei calls shooting fish in a barrel? Fufufu, I can see the appeal in it." Akeno's voice drew their attention skywards and their hearts fell once they beheld her floating high above them. Raising her hand while enshrouded in lightning, she looked as though she was about to pass judgement on the damned.

"Bye bye~" she allowed her hand to fall and a pillar of lightning descended on the trapped exorcists, their screams drowned out by the deafening peal of thunder that followed.

"That was fun, wouldn't you agree priest-san?" She called out to the leader who'd elected not to rush in with his men.

"GRRAAAGHHHH!" After witnessing his entire team eliminated like that, the stray was reduced to screaming incoherently, pulling out a pistol, he fired wildly in the air and his screaming went up a notch when the light rounds just bounced off a barrier harmlessly.

A burst of red demonic energy put him down and Rias walked out from the destroyed building she'd been hiding in. "Was it necessary to taunt them? Haah… at least Issei isn't here to see this, if he was he'd put you through another one of his _lessons._ "

"I don't mind that, it means I get to spend more time with my cute little kouhai, fufufu~" Akeno said as she licked her lips lasciviously to Rias' irritation. A vein popped on her forehead as she directed an annoyed look at her queen. "That's not happening."

"Aw, monopolising him isn't nice you know."

Their bickering was cut short by heavy footfalls approaching them coupled with the sound of buildings being destroyed. Both devils turned to see a giant three headed dog approaching them by bulldozing through any house unfortunate enough to stand in its way.

"Cerberus? What's one doing here?" Rias asked in surprise before narrowing her eyes at the figures atop the house-sized behemoth. "Exorcists… Kokabiel."

Hiding and launching an ambush with the use of illusions again was out of the option since the beast was undoubtedly already aware of their presence and neither devil had an ability that would hide them from a Cerberus.

King and queen alike raised their aura to the maximum and started glowing with power as their enemies came within range. Light bolts peppered their position only to be blocked by the shields Issei had handed out, for a time it looked like neither Rias nor Akeno was going to do anything.

Only when the first of the stray exorcists started falling off the Cerberus did they realise that the devils had actually struck first. Countless invisible wind blades sliced into their formation, hacking the hapless grunts to pieces.

The survivors crouched low, using the Cerberus's armour to guard against further attacks, the wind blades unable to cut through the metal.

"Ow! What the!?" One of the exorcists cried out in surprise when he felt a static shock, looking towards the devils, he paled when he realised that the attack wasn't over yet.

A zone of low potential had been created around him and his comrades and one of the devils facing them just happened to be a lightning wielder. The subsequent flash of lightning was the last thing he ever saw, the strike incinerating him in an instant, mercifully preventing any further suffering.

The Cerberus howled in pain as his metal armour did nothing to protect against the electricity surging around him. As the three heads roared in unison, its full body armour seemed to split at the seams as the canine grew even larger.

Underneath the armour, its skin was a sickly grey, no fur grew on it and countless fissures ran along its flesh, molten lava and flames pouring from the rents. Eyes burning with hellfire, it roared and spat several fireballs towards the devils before charging them.

Rias and Akeno were already in motion by the time the Cerberus began to grow and avoided both the fireballs and the charge, demonic aura swirling around them, they countered with their strongest attacks.

Akeno summoned the largest bolt of lightning from the sky that she could muster and Rias flung a giant sphere of demonic energy infused with the power of destruction.

Both attacks collided dead on and the monster staggered from the force of the attack. It regained its footing rapidly and swivelled two heads to glare at the devils. Twin streams of concentrated hellfire belched from them and Rias and Akeno were forced to dash skywards, the oppressive heat from the flames making combat difficult.

Sweat dripped from their brows even though they'd evaded with a large margin to spare as the heat was just that intense. Their energy shields protected them from a great deal of attacks but pure heat wasn't one of the things it could stop and they were feeling that drawback now.

Once they were beyond the Cerberus's attack range, they started raining attacks down from above. Lightning bolts and spheres of destruction fell from the sky, destroying everything they touched but a defiant roar informed them that their attack had failed to fell the beast.

Striding out of the smoke and crushing several cars in the process, the beast arched its back and the armour plates split apart further, revealing several glowing indentations in its back. Hellfire and lava collected in them before shooting skywards in the form of arrows.

Rias let out an uncharacteristic curse and flew even higher while creating a barrier of wind in the path of the arrows. It served its purpose when the arrows detonated upon contact with the barrier, forming an impromptu display of fireworks in the morning sky.

Akeno copied her king's actions and likewise escaped the onslaught although she didn't make it out without a scratch. Her clothes were singed by the time she regrouped with Rias and her skin was a bright red in places, as though she'd been sun burned badly.

"This isn't good, the heat isn't dissipating after the flames are gone and the Cerberus isn't letting up its attacks. It's getting harder to hold the barrier as well." Rias muttered in a worried tone, her face was drenched in sweat and the exertion was starting to show. Akeno wasn't in much better shape than her.

"This Cerberus isn't normal, it's too strong and heavily armoured… our attacks are working but not fast enough. At this rate, we'll be cooked alive before we take it down." Rias spoke while running a hand across her forehead to wipe off the sweat.

Akeno nodded her agreement while creating a small bubble of water around her arms to sooth the pain. "It must have some kind of weakness… is it just me or does it swell before it fires and shrinks once it's done."

Akeno's observation drew Rias to observe the rampaging titan below them in greater detail and to her surprise, her queen was right. Before the beast would launch another volley of arrows, its seams would expand and the lava would flow upwards to the launchers, its body expanding outwards in the process and once the arrows had been loosed it would shrink before starting to swell again.

She had missed that detail initially as she was more preoccupied with surviving and most of the expansion was from its underbelly and thus out of her field of vision. A stray thought wormed its way through her mind and she seized upon it, an idea forming in her mind.

"Akeno, do you trust me?" Rias asked of her queen and Akeno answered without any hesitation. "With my life."

"I have a plan to kill the Cerberus and it is completely insane."

"Oh?"

Rias paused for a moment to dodge a stray burst of fire that had breached her barrier before continuing. "I think the Cerberus needs to build up the lava before it can attack and it can't control that process, if we can seal the seams, it might just destroy itself from within."

"…How do you intend to do that Rias, we don't have anything capable of sealing them." Akeno inquired, none of their attacks could hold the lava back for very long and she couldn't think of a manner to force the armour to seal off the cracks.

Rias retrieved a familiar glass vial from one of her pockets and Akeno's eyes went wide. "Is that…"

"Holy water? Yes. I've started keeping some with me at all times after Issei, it helps if I ever have to deal with a stray in a situation that I can't use my powers. The Cerberus isn't a devil but as a creature of the underworld, holy water will be very effective against it. I'm no Sona but I have confidence in my ability to force it to freeze in place long enough to hurt the beast."

Rias was right, the plan was completely insane and Akeno doubted her ears for a moment after hearing that. "Okay, that is insane… what do I do?"

"Distract the Cerberus with lightning while I get close, once I freeze it in place I need you to come and help me keep it frozen, I don't think I have enough power to keep the ice from melting on my own."

Akeno nodded her assent and the two friends split apart, each ready to fulfil their part in the plan. The priestess of lightning started gathering lightning around her and waited for Rias to clear the area before unleashing her full power in a single strike.

As expected, the bolt hurt the beast but failed to put it down. Once it regained its footing, it roared and sent another volley skywards. Akeno grit her teeth and dodged to the best of her ability, the barrier having shattered under the strain. Her skin was raw and blisters were forming in places, despite the pain she focused her power to continue attacking while dodging.

Relief washed over her features for a moment when a terrible roar emanated from the Cerberus and the attacks stopped She hardened her expression rapidly and dove towards the ground to assist Rias.

The Gremory heiress for her part was initially ecstatic that her plan had gone off without a hitch. Akeno's distraction had worked perfectly and by the time one of the three heads had noticed her, she'd already hurled her entire stash of holy water over the beast.

With a small burst of her power, she shattered the vial and willed the holy water to fill the seams and freeze solid. Summoning more holy water vials from her stash, she repeated the process until all the seams had been sealed and the lava had no way of escaping.

Being a creature of the underworld, the Cerberus was in pain throughout as the holy water continued to burn it even after it had frozen. Additionally, the pressure was starting to build inside its body and the armour didn't allow it much room to expand.

Thrashing about in agony, it did its best to shatter the ice on it to no avail, the thick armour plates that protected it from so much now worked against it as it prevented the beast from striking the ice nestled underneath it.

Rias grit her teeth as her arms shook from the strain, she was kneeling on the ground now, unable to maintain her flight anymore. In hindsight, trying to freeze a layer of ice over _lava_ would be anything but easy and her demonic power reserves were dropping rapidly as she forced the ice to remain frozen through sheer willpower alone.

Fortunately for her, the Cerberus was too occupied with the ice to remember her existence, let alone consider the fact that taking out the caster would free it from its agony. Akeno dropped next to her and added her power to the mix, forcing the ice to seal up any cracks that might have formed and drop the temperatures even lower.

Despite the difficulty of the task, soft grins spread across their faces as they could feel it getting easier to keep the ice frozen as the seconds ticked by. The lava under its skin was cooling as a result of their actions and turning to stone.

The Cerberus's angry roars turned into desperate whines before long as its belly began to expand, the lava build up inside having nowhere to go but back into the system. Tilting over and landing on its side, the beast gave a mournful howl as its legs scrabbled uselessly before multiple cracks appeared on its flesh.

Not letting up in the least, the king and queen duo sealed it up as well with their flagging strength and watched with tired eyes as several bulges appeared on it. The bulges continued to swell as more cracks appeared only to be sealed up and with one last wail, the Cerberus's belly exploded into tiny chunks, lava and hellfire flying in every direction.

Only rapid reflexes saved the devils from being covered in flaming death and the two watched as the Cerberus twitched several more times before growing still.

Rias collapsed to the ground in exhaustion after that, her reserves nearly drained now. "T-that was difficult, haaah… come on, our work isn't done yet."

"Indeed… and to think Kokabiel and the stolen Excaliburs haven't appeared yet. Come back soon Issei, things are probably going to get worse before they get better."

-line break

Kiba wiped his face with his sleeve, cleaning off the blood splatter. Around him the corpses of several stray exorcists were left impaled on the swords he summoned from the ground. His mouth was set in a grim line and unadulterated hatred burned in his eyes, any exorcist standing against him would perish.

Snapping his fingers, the summoned swords shattered into motes of light and the bodies flopped to the floor, a large pool of blood leaking from them. Not sparring them a second glance, he leapt onto the roof of a shophouse and started making his way towards the outskirts of Kuoh in search of more prey.

The sound of metal ripping through flesh reached his ears before long and he chanced upon a fight between several bloodhounds and the white clad Choir agents. The battle was not going well for the werewolves and several of them lay motionless on the ground.

The Choir assassins had suffered their own fair share of casualties but the werewolves were simply outnumbered. Kiba frowned in consternation, Issei's familiar had made it abundantly clear that he wasn't supposed to fight the choir but he couldn't just stand by and watch the bloodhounds get slaughtered. Church soldiers they may be, they were still Issei's allies.

Hiding in the shadows, he pinged the familiar on his communicator. "Laserbeak, can you hear me?"

" **Indeed I can Sir Kiba, how may I be of assistance?"**

"Some of the bloodhounds are in danger of being wiped out by the Choir, are you in contact with them?"

" **Affirmative, all assets are currently in play, there's no one to spare for their rescue I'm afraid."**

"No one but me." Kiba spoke as he sprung into motion, what he was about to do was dishonourable for a knight, but then this wasn't a duel and if nothing else, Kiba would respect that lesson. "Get the survivors to retreat to my position. There's a series of damaged flats nearby, have them lead the Choir there, I'll collapse the building with my sacred gear and bury them alive."

" **I understand, that just might work."**

While Issei's familiar relied Kiba's instruction, the blond knight arrived at his destination. Leaping down and assassinating two stray exorcists by jamming his swords through their throats upon landing, he set the bodies aflame with one of his demonic blades before preparing his trap.

Taking a deep breath, he willed several hundred swords to grow out of the ground and into the support columns of the buildings around him. The structures shook from his actions but his blades managed to hold the weight and the trembling stilled eventually.

The blond knight released the breath he was holding and ducked into cover while he waited for his prey. From the outside, the buildings looked stable but their integrity had already been compromised, with a mental command from Kiba, the swords would shatter in such a manner to bring everything down.

He didn't have to wait long as the first of the bloodhounds swung round the corner, the rest of his surviving unit followed behind with Kokabiel's men hot on their heels. Kiba frowned when he saw that the unit's strength had been greatly diminished and cold fury settled in the pit of his stomach.

Being werewolves, the bloodhounds were inherently faster than the Choir agents who for all their power remained human. They cleared the trap zone rapidly and the white clad men followed blindly behind into their demise.

Kiba held his breath and smiled darkly when none of his prey noticed anything wrong with their surroundings. He dug deep within himself for his own magic, he wasn't a bishop and he most definitely wasn't a magician but he'd been a devil for a long time now and basic spells were still within his grasp.

As soon as the last member entered the zone, Kiba launched his attack. A simple shockwave spell overcharged with demonic power created a localised earthquake that halted the continued advance of the Choir.

"What the hell!?"

Forced to regain their footing or be knocked over by the shaking, it gave Kiba the precious few seconds he needed to destroy the swords seeded in the buildings. Despite himself, he was awed by the destruction he caused, the buildings began to topple as soon as their supports vanished.

Starting off slow, their fall was almost majestic in the beginning before rapidly gaining speed and collapsing on top of Kiba's enemies. A large cloud of dust was kicked up as the flats struck the ground with a mighty crash.

Coughing from the dust, Kiba summoned a wind demonic sword to blow away the dust cloud, allowing him to view the fruits of his labour. Where a cross junction once stood now lay a pile of rubble two stories high.

Replacing his wind sword with one of flames, the knight bathed the ruins with white hot flames, incinerating everything in its path and even melting some of the masonry. A work of abstract art was left behind as the melted rocks began to cool, forming strange shapes in the process.

Kiba waited a few moments longer and when no one poked their heads out, he nodded to himself and left the area. He highly doubted any human would be able to survive having several buildings dropped on top of them and being doused in flames after that. Not to mention being suffocated once the flames ate up the available oxygen.

" **Very well done Sir Kiba, the bloodhounds have requested that I pass on their thanks."**

"I was just doing my duty. I'm going back to hunting exorcists now."

" **Ah before you go Sir Kiba, one of the stolen Excaliburs has been located."**

"Where."

" **At the destroyed church. It is being wielded by the one known as Shinn if my records are accurate. The fallen angel Dohnaseek is currently engaging him in combat. They are evenly matched for now but several squads of stray exorcists are approaching, please go to his assistance."**

"Hmmph! You didn't need to ask. I'm on my way." Kiba took to the skies and flew straight for the destroyed church, the chance to face an Excalibur again too good to pass up.

With his speed boosted by the traits of the knight piece, the church came into sight before long and he nearly missed the first group of strays in his haste.

Fortunately for him, the exorcists were likewise focused on their destination and failed to spot him. Kiba chastised himself for his inattention before summoning countless blades in the sky and sending them shooting towards the ground. The steel rain easily annihilated the group without difficulty and Kiba continued on his way.

Impatience burned inside him and he longed to fight against the stolen Excalibur already but duty came first. He would not have his battle interrupted by anyone, and if that meant wasting time taking out Shinn's reinforcements first, so be it.

The next three squads fell in much the same manner as the first, none of the expecting a strike from the skies. The final group however, proved tougher to deal with, these ones had been paying attention to the skies from the get go and easily spotted Kiba flying over.

A hail of light bolts answered his approach and Kiba weaved through them with his speed before trying to strike them down with flying swords again.

He bit his lips in frustration when his swords missed their targets due to the exorcists scattering into the trees as soon as they saw the swords appearing in the sky.

Lacking any other ranged options, Kiba had no other recourse but to get up close and personal. Dropping out of the sky in a steep dive, his sudden burst of speed caught the exorcists off guard as he appeared next to one in a blur.

Burying his sword deep into the man's sternum, he left the blade there as he hefted the man and threw the body at his comrades. A small smile graced his face for an instant when the embedded sword struck another man in the face, leaving a long gash and stunning him.

Evading the oncoming light bolts and trusting his shield to protect him from the ones he couldn't avoid, he summoned twin swords and closed with the rest, hacking and slashing at everything within range.

One by one, the strays fell to Kiba's bloodthirsty blades, their panicked screams falling silent one at a time. Once the red haze lifted, the knight was left panting from the exertion, and covered in the blood of the fallen.

When no one else rose to challenge him, he gave a short sigh and allowed his bloodstained swords to shatter. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he started sprinting towards the church, ready for his showdown.

A light spear narrowly missing him was proof that he was nearly at his destination. Two blurs were clashing at high speeds in a clearing up ahead, the trees in the area had already been levelled by their conflict.

Dohnaseek's one good wing flapped in the wind as he swung the Chikage to parry Shinn's Excalibur Rapidly, his arm shook from the force of the blow but he refused to give an inch. Palming three light daggers, he hurled them at the insane mercenary and cursed when they missed after yet another application of his super speed.

"You! You! You! You! That's my sword you fucker! Give it back!" Dohnaseek obliged his wishes by stabbing the blade into the shadows, allowing the tip to burst forth from Shinn's own, nearly impaling him.

While Shinn was in the air from his dodge, the fallen rushed in to strike him down with a light spear. When the body evaporated into mist, he received a kick to the sides for his effort.

Coughing slightly as he rose to his feet, he witnessed the mercenary spouting nonsense while dual wielding. "Nightmare huh… wonderful, boss you better give me a raise for this."

Dohnaseek spat on the floor before rushing into combat again, his cursed katana in his right hand and a lance of light in his left. Alternating between stabbing with his lance and striking with his katana, he did his best to keep the Excalibur wielder off guard.

It wasn't easy to do so with Excalibur Nightmare throwing off his aim with illusions, fortunately for the fallen, Shinn was nowhere near proficient with using multiple blades at the same time and he could only use the abilities of one sword at a time.

Blocking a stab with the Chikage, Dohnaseek's lance landed a counter hit and went straight through Shinn's shoulder. With a war cry, he swung his arm outwards and ripped the limb off.

He grunted in frustration as a stab from the other Excalibur nicked his face and forced him to back off or lose his head. He could do nothing but watch as several blood red vines erupted from the main body to re-join with the severed limb and pull it back into place.

"Damned chimeras…" He cursed again when the wound fully healed while he was unable to press his advantage. This wasn't the first time it'd happened already, any wound not inflicted by his katana would heal up in a matter of seconds, any attempt to strike with light weapons first and then follow up with the Chikage was usually foiled by the Excalibur's abilities.

As Shinn devolved into insane laughter for the umpteenth time that day, Dohnaseek took the opportunity to wipe away the blood leaking from the wound on his face. In a battle of attrition he was at a significant disadvantage since unlike the chimera, his wounds wouldn't heal that fast.

He took small comfort in the fact that he wasn't a devil since most devils would have been turned to dust by the wounds he'd sustained long ago. The Excaliburs were truly terrifying weapons.

Switching up his tactics, he once more charged into battle, opening with a hail of ineffectual light bolts that nonetheless served to distract his opponent. While Shinn was momentarily blinded from using his arm to protect his face, Dohnaseek rammed his lance right through the arm and into the chimera's face.

He was mildly disconcerted to find that the wound barely fazed the creature, it reminded him far too much of his first encounter with Issei. In any case, the stab served its purpose and pinned Shinn in place.

He ducked low to avoid the other Excalibur and stabbed the Chikage into his shadow once more, allowing the blade to grow out of a shadow on Shinn's body. As the shadow was cast by his other flailing arm, it moved with them and the blade shifted as well.

Dohnaseek cracked a smile when Shinn's two arms fell to the side after being messily removed by the cursed sword. Pulling back his arm, he tried to ram the sword back into the shadows, this time intending the blade to come out at an angle that would cleanly bisect the chimera.

He was caught off guard when Shinn's belly opened up to reveal a giant teeth filled maw. Abandoning his attack, his reflexes saved him from being breakfast but he was unable to dodge the tongue that shot out of the mouth.

Although calling it a tongue would have been something of an exaggeration. It was more akin to a solid tentacle with a single metal spike at the tip instead of flesh and it packed serious force behind it as Dohnaseek found out.

The metal spike buried itself in his gut and he was sent hurtling backwards into a tree from the force of the blow. He nearly screamed out when the barb twisted in the wound before tearing its way free and taking a large chunk of flesh with it.

Eyes watering in pain, Dohnaseek clutched the wound with one shaking hand while looking up at the barb hanging over him. Bloodstained tip glinting in the morning sunlight, it was poised to strike and end his existence.

Refusing to give the chimera the satisfaction of seeing him cower, he spat in Shinn's direction and glared defiantly at the tongue. Shinn gave an ear splitting screech from his new mouth and the spike stabbed straight for Dohnaseek's face.

The fallen angel was surprised when instead of being granted a one-way ticket to the afterlife, the tongue was severed by a blur and fell to the ground twitching harmlessly. The newcomer tossed a small glass vial to him that he managed to catch with his shaking hand.

Identifying the liquid inside as phoenix tears, he uncapped the vial with his thumb and downed it all in one gulp. Already he could feel the magical liquid working its wonders and his wound started to stitch itself back together.

Rising to his feet, he used the katana to stabilise himself before walking over to Kiba as Shinn went berserk in front of them. "To be saved by a devil… never thought this day would come."

"Likewise crow, don't get used to it." Kiba shot back in a monotone. "You just happen to be one of Issei's men and I need you to help me take that bastard down. Try not to go down so easily next time."

"There won't be a next time, that extra mouth caught me off guard that's all."

The two lapsed into silence as Shinn underwent a complete transformation. His muscles bulged under his clothes and his body expanded in the process. Fleshy tentacles grew out of his shoulders to replace the missing arms, whipping around violently and preventing Dohnaseek and Kiba from attacking.

Shinn's skin turned a diseased shade of green and his teeth thinned and sharpened into spines. A long bony tail grew out from his back and the tentacles melded together to from four new arms for the beast. Wielding the two Excaliburs in them, his free hands ended in oversized razor sharp claws that could dig a furrow in a nearby tree with barely any effort.

With a ghastly roar, the fully transformed chimera leapt towards the duo with astonishing speed for its size. Swinging its blades as it went, it chopped down the few trees fortunate enough to have survived the earlier fracas.

Kiba evaded with his own speed while Dohnaseek relied more on parrying with the Chikage. Fast as the beast was, it didn't seem to have the ability to activate the Excalibur abilities and for that Dohnaseek gave thanks.

Without the super speed or the illusions, the chimera was nothing more than a frenzied beast, one with dangerous weapons yes, but a beast all the same. It's blows were still within Dohnaseek's ability to parry, his training from hell courtesy of Issei showing its results.

It helped that Shinn had lost what little remained of his mind during the transformation and his blows were nowhere near as refined as they had been initially. His only gripe in this situation was that Shinn's defences had been magnified to ridiculous proportions, his light attacks couldn't even scratch the chimera and even with the Chikage, cutting through flesh wasn't as easy as one would expect.

While the chimera was preoccupied with trying to turn the crow into paste, Kiba took a deep breath and waited for his opening. He could tell from where Dohnaseek's light spears and Chikage failed to inflict any significant damage that Shinn's flesh was essentially a suit of armour now.

Summoning a new sword in hand, Kiba hefted it in an unsure manner, he'd never used this particular blade in the past since he never had reason to. Shaped like an estoc, its only ability was to splinter after the first hit and true to the original, it lacked a cutting edge.

Its sole purpose was to slip through an enemies guard and seek out its weak point before blowing up once embedded in its target, thereby inflicting massive damage. Usually, it was too difficult to use effectively in battle and more often than not, he had another demonic sword that would fit the situation better. But right now, this was the right tool for the job.

"What, the, hell, are you waiting for!?" Dohnaseek managed to get out once he noticed the blond knight just standing there with his sword in hand. He'd landed a few more blows with the Chikage but every wound inflicted only made the chimera angrier. He was starting to tire, the phoenix tears having healed his wounds but not the fatigue.

"I need an opening, once I have it, I'll take it down." Kiba called back while continuing to watch while gripping the sword in both hands tight enough that his knuckles turned white. Just a little bit more and he'd be able to best the Excaliburs.

There.

Chance.

Kiba didn't hesitate for even a second, bursting forth with all the speed afforded to him by his training and knight piece, he thrust the estoc forwards as he went.

Shinn never even saw him coming and his first indication that Kiba was there was when a metal spike drove itself into one of the tiny cuts inflicted by the Chikage.

Kiba didn't stop even when his blade met resistance, continuing to push through the bone itself as he buried the sword all the way up to its hilt. He knew that the blade had pierced the monsters heart and dark satisfaction blossomed inside him before he leapt away.

An instant after he did, the estoc's blade burst into countless tiny fragments with the force of a grenade. Even if Kiba had missed Shinn's heart, the shrapnel blending his insides on their way out wouldn't.

The chimera's entire left side exploded in a shower of blood, metal and gore… drenching the unfortunate Dohnaseek in the process and the corpse flopped to the ground.

"And now I'm covered in chimera guts… I demand a raise, I'm not paid enough to deal with this shit."

"I did it, I beat Excalibur. Ah… hahahhah…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kiba burst out laughing as the chimera twitched once and stilled, the twin swords lying there in the dirt. For a brief moment, Kiba considered destroying the two blades anyway, his buried hatred rearing its ugly head again, screaming at him to lay waste to everything.

"Laughing like a madman is hardly sign of good mental health ya know." Dohnaseek deadpanned as Kiba suppressed his dark desires with great effort. "In any case, best to put the Excaliburs in safekeeping for now."

He reached for the twin swords when a magic circle spawned around them, shocking the fallen angel and tossing him backwards. Kiba's eyes widened when the two swords were summoned away in front of him and his attention was drawn to Shinn's head which had reverted to its human form and was somehow speaking.

"Fuck you assholes, this isn't over yet you hear me!? I'll be back with a new body and once that fat priest finishes his little project I'll kill you all with the Excalibur. And then I'll kill that fucking sword stealing bastard and his little ice bitch. Ahahahahah! Just you wait and see fuckers!"

An identical magic circle formed around Shinn's head and it too was summoned away, leaving the rest of the already decaying corpse behind. Rage briefly spiked in the knight as his victory was stolen from him just like that before he suppressed it with the knowledge that Shinn's escape meant that he'd get to defeat the holy swords again.

Mouth set in a grim line, he walked over to where the fallen angel lay and extended a hand. Dohnaseek grabbed hold of it and the knight helped him up. Dusting himself off, he coughed a few times before sighing at the prospect of having to go through this again.

"Why can't things ever be easy?"

Kiba opened his mouth to answer when Laserbeak's transmission cut him off.

" **Attention, the cadre class fallen angel Kokabiel has appeared. He is on his way to Kuoh academy at this moment. I repeat, Kokabiel has appeared, all active units, please be careful."**

* * *

Author's notes: Welp Kuoh is a battlefield again. The man has shown himself and Issei is still incapacitated. Next chapter is going to cover the characters I couldn't include here, Issei will not be appearing in it. I could bring him back to curbstomp everybody but that would make him a complete mary sue now wouldn't it? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. On a side note, I'm probably going to revise the story summary, the current one just doesn't seem to fit.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 18** : Kuoh under siege part 2

Motohama hummed a small tune as he extracted his scythe from the skull he buried it in. As the corpse flopped to the ground lifelessly, he twirled the weapon in hand before turning to face the remaining Choir hunters surrounding him.

Giving a disarming smile while still soaked in the blood of the fallen, he spread his arms as though welcoming an old friend. "What's the matter? Too proud to show your true faces now? The sweet blood… it sings to me, it's enough to make a man sick."

Instead of replying to him, they simply raised their swords and rushed him, trying to bring him down with numbers alone.

Motohama laughed at their actions before swiping at them with his scythe and forcing them to keep their distance or lose their heads. "Oh come on now, we all know that none of you are human anymore. Face me as the beasts you truly are, there's no sense in keeping the masquerade going."

Motohama shook his head in disappointment when growls were the only response. "That's fine, your blood will nourish me either way. Oh what a sporting hunt this will be." He said with a feral grin before disappearing in a burst of speed.

Reappearing with his back against the leader of the Choir hunters surrounding him, he held the scythe's blade to the man's neck. As the hunter tried to escape his predicament, Motohama gave a small laugh before letting the scythe drop from his hands, the unnaturally sharp blade slicing through the man's neck without any resistance, decapitating him instantly.

The bloodstained teen was already in motion before the body hit the dirt. Maniacal smile etched firmly on his face as he fought, his glasses seemed to be shining in the light and that just served to strike fear into the hearts of the less experienced hunters.

Faced with a ruthless, implacable predator taking them down one at a time in the form of some twisted sport, it didn't take long before the first of them started to break under the pressure.

"No no no no no no, stay away! STAY AWAY FROM MEEEE AAHHHHRGGHHH **ARRGHHHHHHHH!** " As one hunter started backing away while screaming in panic, he halted halfway and a shudder ran through his form.

"Hoh?" Motohama ceased his onslaught and hung back for a moment to watch in curiosity. He wasn't disappointed when the man's body started to bulge in unnatural places. Skin ripping itself to shreds as the muscles and bones beneath it expanded beyond its ability to stretch.

Blood splattered the surroundings as the transformation neared its end. Where a mortal man once stood, now remained a horrific beast covered in flayed skin leaking blood endlessly, limbs ending in paws with wickedly sharp claws.

The scream it loosed from its maw seemed to tear at the very soul itself. With an absentminded flick of its paw, it sent one of its former comrades flying into a wall hard enough to paint it red.

Fear ran rampant amongst the survivors and one by one they began transforming into beasts themselves, much to the amusement of Motohama. "Now that's more like it! Show me what you truly are and let's dance!"

Leaping into battle once more, Motohama wielded his scythe with expert precision, hacking off any thing his scythe could reach. Euphoria was the only word that could describe his current state of being as his bloodlust and hatred for the Choir merged to form an unholy combination.

Losing himself in the fervour of battle, he was caught off guard by a sudden burst of speed from one of the remaining beasts and sent flying with a powerful backhand.

Pulling himself to his feet, he never stopped laughing even as his neck was bent at an odd angle and his bones were showing from where his skin had been ripped off. Dropping his scythe for a moment, he grabbed his head with both hands and snapped it back into place with a sickening crack.

Instead of healing up, he allowed his own blood to flow freely and coat his weapon in it. "Well done, let's try this again shall we?" Motohama said as he pointed his scythe at his opponents, the blood had wrapped around the blade, extending its reach and making it far more sinister.

Leaping forwards, Motohama swung his scythe as he went, sending blood flying from the scythe towards the beasts as improvised bullets. The crimson liquid lacked any stopping power of its own but after impacting, they glowed for a split second and ignited into flame, burning their targets.

As they were distracted by the sudden pain, Motohama used a tree as a springboard to leap onto the head of the nearest beast. Jamming the scythe right between its eyes, he forced his blood into the wound from the scythe and leapt off as the blood ignited, blowing the head into chunks of steaming flesh.

Dodging a massive limb threatening to squash him, he lashed out at it and nearly cleaved the entire arm off before sprinting behind the beast as it howled in pain. Doing a spinning slash, he had the blood coating extend outwards as he did so and scored a long line on the beast's back.

Vanishing in a burst of speed, he reappeared above the creature who was still arching its back from the pain. In the brief moment before Motohama's scythe descended, the light of sanity returned to its eyes and it seemed to be at peace as the weapon put it out of its misery.

Strong as the beasts were, they were simply no match for Motohama and eventually the last of them fell to his blade. No longer smiling, his face was adorned with a bitter expression. "Requiescat in pace you poor sorry fools."

"You actually pity your victims? What hypocrisy, if you truly felt sorry for them, you should have let them kill you." An aged priest said as he stepped out of the shadows where he had been watching.

"Hello Laurence. It's been a while since I killed you hasn't it? And of course I pity them, they bought into your lies and paid in full for it." Motohama spoke without turning to face the newcomer.

"Yes… you did evict me from the Nightmare…" The priest's face contorted into an ugly expression. "And when I was so close… you know why I'm here. Either hand over the Paleblood or the key to the Nightmare."

"That's not happening, I will never allow you to succeed."

The priest sighed as he shook his head before addressing Motohama as one would a spoilt child. "Why do you continue to fight us hunter? Our enemies are your enemies, we hunt beasts and everything we do, we do for the advancement of human kind. If we had the Paleblood or access to the great ones in the nightmare, we will be able to bring humanity into a new age of prosperity… is that not a goal worth working towards?"

Motohama snickered before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. "One word, Yharnam. You forget your own creed Laurence, _fear the old blood_ , not abuse it until everyone turns into a mindless beast! And let's not get started on all the experiments you've done on innocents."

Laurence shrugged before replying. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but in the name of progress, some sacrifices have to be made. I will not ask again hunter, give me the Paleblood or the key to the Nightmare."

"Hahhahahahaha! Over my dead body monster." Motohama shot back as he raised his scythe.

"…So be it."

Both vanished in a burst of speed, sparks flared around the place as their weapons clashed repeatedly. When they separated, Motohama was breathing hard from the numerous wounds inflicted on him. Unlike his earlier ones, these caused him pain and healed far slower. Laurence himself didn't escape unscathed but was in far better condition.

"Foolish boy, I was a hunter long before you were even born, you cannot defeat me. Your little… friends… aren't here to help you this time."

"Haven't you heard? We do the impossible on a regular basis, and forgive me if I don't show respect to an old fart like you." Motohama said as he swung his scythe in an attempt to strike down the priest.

Laurence was unamused as he parried the weapon with his own longsword before counterattacking with a pistol. Motohama having no way to dodge the bullets, chose to harden the blood on him into a form of makeshift armour.

It held if only just barely, the force of the bullets still sent him flying backwards. He cursed and whipped out his own firearm, sending a hail of blood bullets downrange. Smirking when Laurence started weaving his way through the barrage, he detonated the bullets mid-air, causing the priest to be covered in burning blood.

Holstering the revolver, he leapt forwards with his scythe already poised to reap the life of the distracted priest.

To his great displeasure, his attack was stopped when Laurence still had the presence of mind to block with his sword. With a surprising show of strength, the elderly priest forced his attacker backwards with a single push.

"Why do you fight us hunter? Do you not see? With Paleblood humanity will be able to evolve beyond the limits of our own frail bodies. We will be able to take our rightful place at the top of this world, all the supernatural scum will be purged from this world and it will become a true paradise." Laurence spoke with passion, the fire in his eyes indicating that he truly believed it.

"I don't know which is worse, that that's your endgame or that you truly believe the crap you're spouting. There is no ascension you fool, only damnation! Look around you! Look at what's left of your men, what kind of paradise can be built when beast hood is the only outcome?"

"Naïve." Laurence forced Motohama back with his inhuman strength once more before trying to shoot the teen again. "We work with what we have and unfortunately the blood we have is tainted. We are so _close_ to a breakthrough now, and you, you have purified Paleblood flowing in your veins. With it, we will succeed, no more will subjects turn into monsters. Humanity will ascend!"

Motohama ducked behind cover, allowing the bullets to strike the wall harmlessly. Stowing his scythe for the moment, he pulled out a second revolver before poking his head out to return fire as soon as Laurence needed to reload.

"Yes, I have fucking Paleblood in me, even now I resist the change. Nothing but madness and suffering will come of using it. What you aim for is unchecked evolution and that will spell the end of the world."

Laurence stood still and allowed the bullets to strike him without flinching. As the bullets continued to tear through his flesh, his eyes glowed a brilliant blue and he began to transform. Motohama never once let up his barrage even as a familiar nightmare reformed before his very eyes.

Standing at over three stories, a titanic beast wreathed in flames roared to the heavens. One oversized left arm smashed the ground hard and that was the only warning Motohama had before the beast leapt into the air.

He cursed before sprinting away with all the speed he could muster as the transformed priest dropped out of the sky and struck the ground with a massive flaming shockwave.

Motohama avoided most of the damage and he watched with a grim smile as Laurence pulled himself free from the rubble of the destroyed neighbourhood. Everything around him for several blocks had been completely levelled.

Several fallen angels were approaching to check out the commotion when Laurence swung his arms outwards, sending a wave of flame that incinerated them before they could react.

"You're killing your comrades now? Once a beast always a beast I see."

" **Foolish hunter, they were never my comrades. Such inhuman scum would have been purged by us eventually anyway, I merely used them for my own purposes. And if you will not see reason then I will have to extract the Paleblood from your broken corpse myself."**

A feral grin slipped onto Motohama's face as he was presented with a new challenge. "You fail to realise this vicar, when you've killed off every last 'monster' in this world, there will be one left… you."

" **I remain a beast until I ascend hunter, with the Paleblood I will no longer be one and I will guide humanity into its new golden age. It is my destiny! I will give you one last chance hunter, join us."**

"Never. I am a hunter of beasts, and one just happens to stand before me."

Sprinting towards the titan, Motohama continued peppering the monster with bullets while avoiding the bursts of fire sent his way. Each bullet dealt nothing more than scratch damage to the former vicar but with the volume of fire he was putting out, it was starting to affect the priest.

Laurence roared in pain before slamming his fists on the ground, unleashing a wall of flames in every direction. Instead of falling back again, Motohama grit his teeth and charged straight through the flames, his healing factor working to repair the damage once he was through.

Evading the arm that nearly took his head off, Motohama holstered his guns and drew his scythe in one swift motion, striking out at his arm as he went, eliciting a pained cry from Laurence.

The beast retaliated with a swift strike from its smaller right arm that Motohama blocked with his scythe. Despite being forced back from the force behind it, Motohama grinned and charged back into the fray.

'Good, without his Siderite sword he can't hurt me that much.'

Swinging the scythe, he splattered the colossus with a wave of blood that immediately started to eat away at the beast much to Laurence's surprise.

"Feel that? That's what purified Paleblood does, it eats at everything until nothing remains. The only reason I still function is a result of a very long series of coincidences and a pact with a great one, anyone else will die if they have it injected into them."

" **So, hand over the key to the Nightmare. The great ones reside there and we can garner their assistance for this."** The beast said as he once more tried to smash the insect slicing away at him.

"It will never work, besides, I swore an oath to keep them away from monsters like you, so Yharnam will never happen again. As long as I draw breath, you will never reach them."

" **Then breathe no more."** Laurence leapt into the air once more before coming down in a ball of flame and lava. The conflagration burned everything in its path to ash and Motohama was forced to retreat from the sheer heat alone.

Mouth set in a grim line, Motohama continued retreating as the abomination gave chase, Laurence was proving to be a tougher foe than he initially expected. He ducked under the beast's arm as it shot out to grab him, biting back a yell when several drops of lava landed on him.

Slashing with his scythe, he forced the beast to retract its arm in pain and started shooting at the beast with one of his revolvers. "So you learnt some new tricks, big deal, I killed you once in the nightmare, I'll do so again."

A strange barking came from the former priest and it took Motohama several seconds to realise it was laughter. **"Indeed you did, and I must thank you for that. You freed me from my prison of insanity, and now I am no longer just some mindless beast. I am stronger than I've ever been with my mind restored to me. I am reborn… and I have you to thank for that."**

"Shit."

That exclamation was the only thing Motohama could utter as Laurence reared up and unleashed his most devastating attack.

His belly bulged briefly before the beast expelled a torrent of fire up into the sky, creating a cloud of burning hellfire. Not sticking around to find out what the cloud was supposed to do, Motohama took off running for cover.

He just barely made it into the basement of a destroyed mall as it started to rain.

He could only watch on in mute horror as an endless inferno rained from the heavens. He sank to his knees and pressed his hands to his ears in pain, cursing his enhanced hearing. Augmenting his abilities with Paleblood was fine and all until a situation like this cropped up.

He had no control over what was improved and as a result the screams of the dying could not be shut out no matter how hard he tried. Laurence's attack was indiscriminate in nature and the area it encompassed was terrifying, Motohama didn't know how many were caught in the burning rain but their screams were stabbing into his brain mercilessly before they were silenced.

Laserbeak's message just worsened his mood.

" **Be advised, delta and gamma squads have been wiped out and their keystones have been destroyed by the rain of fire. Bloodwalker, you're the only available unit in the area, please deal with that monster. I'm detailing additional support now, but it'll be awhile before they arrive."**

"On it." Motohama spoke tersely as he waited for the rain to stop, only belatedly noticing that Laurence had disappeared. How something that large could move so fast he'd never know, but a quick check with his 'eyes' indicated that the beast was rapidly falling out of the sky… onto his position.

Hurling himself to the side, Motohama avoided being crushed under the behemoth's bulk as Laurence crashed through the ceiling, setting the environment on fire as he did so.

" **You will not escape me hunter."**

Laurence started flailing his arms around trying to bat Motohama into a wall. The hunter for his part was doing his best to avoid the rapid fire attacks and counterattack whenever the opportunity arose but the confined space was making it difficult to do so.

To compound the problem, Laurence massive bulk effectively sealed off the exit. As he scored another hit, Motohama was considering taking a gamble to bring down the entire structure on their heads, if he got lucky, he'd survive long enough to claw his way out and Laurence would be stopped or at least slowed.

Only problem was if he failed, it would be a one way trip back to the dream and by the time he could return, the fight would have been long over and the actual Kuoh a smouldering pile of ashes.

Just when he was about to take the risk anyway, Laurence shrieked in pain as several light spears embedded themselves in his back.

Through the hole in the ceiling, Motohama could make out the forms as several fallen angels chucking spears at the massive beast. He cracked a smile as he downed an elixir liberated from the grasps of the Choir agents who fell to him earlier.

He could feel the arcane properties of the elixir taking effect and his presence was diminished, allowing him to slip by the distracted beast and the fallen angels.

On his way out, he could make out the fallen cursing the former priest for killing so many of their own with his attack and wondering where the hell such a monster had come from.

That suited Motohama just fine, infighting amongst his enemies was always good in his opinion. 'Whaddaya know, the killer known as poor communication strikes again.'

His presence still suppressed, Motohama evacuated the area with all possible haste without giving away his position and retreated into a nearby building that had survived the devastation somewhat.

Taking a deep breath, he started to channel the power within the Paleblood. He didn't have the luxury of holding back his full power anymore even if unleashing everything would cost him more of his humanity in the process.

'Ascension to a higher plane huh? Let's do this.'

The elixir's effects faded away as his power skyrocketed, his senses sharpened even further and he felt himself growing detached from the world around him. Only constant repetition of his purpose in Kuoh kept him from simply not caring about the battle.

This was the part he hated the most about his power, the more power he granted himself, the less motivated to use it for his original intent he became. Give himself too much and he'd lose himself forever, effectively becoming a force of nature without much thought for the people around him, not unlike the great ones in that regard. A careful balance needed to be struck and it would take time for that, time he did not have.

His eyes snapped open and they glowed pure white with power as Laurence bounded over towards him, having already disposed of the fallen attacking him.

With a simple leap, Motohama avoided Laurence's attack with a blank face. His speed had increased to unbelievable levels and he dodged every one of Laurence's blows without breaking a sweat, all of his earlier injuries had already fully healed.

Calmly raising one hand, Motohama caught the beast's outstretched arm and halted it without giving ground much to Laurence's surprise. The next thing the vicar knew, he was missing an arm as Motohama ripped the entire limb off with one swift motion.

"Odd. You should have been sent flying with that. Is this inertia at work? I will have to look into it." Motohama said in a dispassionate tone as he stared at the kneeling beast without any emotion at all.

" **Kuh! Is this the power of the Paleblood?"** The beast spat out as he continued to grab at his bloody shoulder with his right arm.

"Paleblood? Yes, this is my power. What did I need to do again? Ah yes, I need to kill you. Why? I suppose I'll figure that out later."

Motohama vanished before Laurence's startled eyes and reappeared with his left arm buried in his gut up till the shoulder. The beast gasped in pain as Motohama's mastery of blood now extended to his own and the hunter forced the blood to rupture every blood vessel in his body and burst out in a spray.

Laurence refused to give in despite the pain and lifted his good arm to bring down on the non-resisting hunter. Motohama merely stared at the raised fist in curiosity, his self-preservation instincts had been completely stripped away by this point.

" **Die!"**

" **FUCK! LOOK OUT!"**

Before the giant fist could pulverise the teen, a silver blur shot by and grabbed Motohama as it went. A stray rock shard from the pulverised ground struck Motohama's forehead in the process and elicited a small groan from him.

" **What the hell is wrong with you bloodwalker!? You got a death wish or something?"**

"Ugh… my head… nice to see you too Gael."

Motohama cradled his head in his hands and he stood up, the glow in his eyes already fading away. A transformed Gael crouched at his side. The strike to his head had jarred him enough to return him to lucidity at the cost of most of his power.

" **And pray tell, what the hell is that thing!?"**

"That would be our dear friend Laurence."

" **Bullshit, he's been dead for over seventy years!"**

"Not dead, just imprisoned, he's back now at any rate."

" **I assume he's the fucker who burnt my men alive?"**

"Indeed."

Gael growled in anger as he stared at the wounded Laurence pulling himself back together. The heat being put out from the beast was too much for him to take and Motohama was still not at a 100% from whatever it was that afflicted him. Neither of them were in any position to take down the renegade priest and they were forced to watch as Laurence forced himself back into fighting shape.

With a sickening tearing sound, the abomination's damaged legs detached from its main body and burst into flames while a new arm burst out from its left shoulder and it began to rise up.

"A beast with power over flame? This is unheard of." A new voice drew the attention of Motohama and his face instantly warped into a snarl as he beheld the newcomer. Shaking off the remaining after effects of the Paleblood with sheer force of will, he raised his scythe and directed it at her.

"Amelia… I don't know how you survived but that is a mistake I will rectify immediately."

" **Whoa hold up hunter, she's on our side now. Right now we need to deal with the beast in front of us, I'll explain everything later."** Gael interjected quickly before Motohama could come to blows with his intended.

Motohama reluctantly lowered his scythe as Gael's words did make sense even if his instincts were screaming at him to cut down the Choir member right then and there. "…Fine, if she's here I assume Issei has already vetted her then. I don't know why you would protect her but she so much as looks in the wrong direction and I finish what her kind started so long ago."

Amelia met Motohama's hate filled glare with an even gaze of her own. "I am here to help and make amends whether you trust me or not… do you have a means of bringing down that beast?"

"I have one way, but I need time for that."

Amelia nodded before drawing Excalibur Blessing and activating its ability. Motohama grunted in surprise when he felt a rush of strength flow through him.

"I'll buy you the time." Amelia said and before anyone could voice their objections, she began transforming herself. Morphing herself into a giant werewolf only slightly smaller than Laurence's initial beast form. Her Excalibur morphed into a ring around one of her claws and covered her in a holy aura and once the transformation was complete she immediately charged the flaming beast in a flurry of teeth and claws.

After a moment's thought, Motohama tossed his revolvers to Gael, giving him a means to attack the insane vicar. He didn't need those guns for what he was about to do.

As Gael warped back into his human form, he started firing away at the Laurence, supporting Amelia while Motohama stepped back and began to draw upon the strength in his blood again.

As the two members of the church kept the heat off him, he bolted out every other thought and focused solely on achieving a balance between power and sanity.

Sweat matted his brow as he maintained himself amidst the rush of power and eldritch knowledge rushing through him. Carefully sorting out the bits he needed, he allowed the rest of it to fade away as he slowly opened his eyes after several minutes of channelling, both glowed with power albeit nowhere near as strongly as they did before.

He stared dispassionately as Laurence tossed a badly wounded Amelia aside and swatted Gael away as he tried to assist, all the while ranting about treachery from the ex-Choir member.

While he didn't particularly care about them anymore, a small part of him noted that letting them die would be troublesome in the long run. Since he needed to take Laurence down anyway, he supposed he could go one step further and keep them alive.

As Laurence raised his fist to send a wave of fire towards Amelia, he was stunned by Motohama's sudden appearance in front of him.

While standing in the air, the teen delivered a devastating punch to Laurence's skull and sent his head rocketing backwards. While the beast was still reeling from the blow, Motohama raised his hand and a small portal opened in front of his open palm.

An energy meteor shot out of it and struck Laurence square in the chest, once more sending him tumbling backwards. As he rose in pain, he started screaming at Motohama as his beast hood started to eat away at his sanity.

" **HUNTERRRRR! WHY DO YOU STILL GET IN MY WAY!? FIRST YOU EVICT ME FROM THE NIGHTMARE WHEN I WAS SO CLOSE TO COMMUNION WITH THE GREAT ONES AND NOW YOU OPPOSE ME AGAIN!? DIEEEEEEEE!"**

Spewing a torrent of lava straight at Motohama, Laurence intended to bury the boy under a river of molten rock.

Motohama for his part merely waved his hand as a shockwave emanated from it and split the torrent down the middle, slamming into the beast with the force of a freight train and tossing him backwards.

"Please die."

Motohama asked politely before raising his right arm into the sky, opening up a massive portal and turning day to night as a starry sky was the only thing visible beyond the breach.

" **HUNNTEERRRRRRRRRRRR!"** Laurence screamed out in despair as Motohama echoed his earlier attack and summoned countless meteors to smash the demented beast. His screams were lost in the chaos as the rain decimated the area and flattened him so thoroughly that only a large pool of blood was left by the time Motohama let up his assault.

When the teen could no longer feel Laurence's lifeforce, the glow in his eyes diminished as he slowly descended to the ground. Staggering once the power deserted him, Motohama took a shaky breath as the maddening effects of the Paleblood left him.

"That was harder than it had any right to be, fuck the author for putting me through this crap." Stretching a bit to get rid of any stiffness left in his body, he turned to face Gael and Amelia who were approaching in human form. Gael was supporting his fiancé as Laurence had dished out a severe beating on her during the battle, leaving her unable to walk on her own.

"Now about-" He began to speak before cutting himself off when he caught something in his peripheral vision. Eyes widening, he tried to reach Gael but without the augmentation of the Paleblood, he wouldn't make it in time.

Blood splattered his face as a light spear punched straight through flesh and exited cleanly, leaving a gaping wound behind.

Gael watched on in shock as Amelia crumpled to the ground in a rapidly growing pool of blood, her hand still outstretched from where it had pushed him aside. Excalibur Blessing clattered to the floor uselessly.

"Amelia… AMELIA!" Gael screamed as he rushed to cradle the dying woman in his arms. "Nononononono! That was meant for me! Why'd you take the blow!?"

"F-fool, I-I'm more ex-expandable than y-you are. I-I'm s-sorry… f-for e-experimenting on y-you… f-for everything." The exorcist managed to stutter out despite the pain as Gael gripped her hand tight and tried to avoid panicking.

"Love huh? How nauseating." A figure with ten jet black wings called down to the trio below. Raising his hands, a magic circle formed around the fallen Excalibur and before anyone could react, the blade was teleported away by him.

Gael glared up at him with impotent rage as he was completely powerless in this situation. He wanted to roar to the heavens even as tears spilled from his eyes.

"Kokabiel I presume." He was distracted by Motohama's voice coming from beside him and the hunter surprised him once more by dropping a small vial of silvery liquid into his lap.

"The one and the only, I must say you do wield some very interesting abilities… join me and we can create a new world order." Kokabiel addressed Motohama in a tone brimming with arrogance.

Choosing to ignore the fallen angel for the moment, Motohama directed his attention to the grieving werewolf. "That vial contains a purified form of my blood, inject it into her if you wish to save her."

"P-Paleblood?" The fragile hope in his voice was almost gut wrenching to hear and Motohama simply gave a small smile at that. "What else?"

As Gael hurriedly injected the wounded exorcist with it, Motohama shot Kokabiel a glare whilst the fallen continued to hover with an amused expression on his face.

"So? Will you join me?"

"I'll join you when hell freezes over." Motohama shot down Kokabiel's offer before readying his scythe and swung it at the fallen, sending a wave of burning blood at him.

"So be it then, you can die with the rest of these insects." A malicious grin spread across Kokabiel's face as he met Motohama's assault with a volley of light spears of his own.

Author's notes: Okay, this one was unexpected. This chapter was supposed to be a series of separate battles featuring the rest but it turned into a Motohama centric one. Not really sure what to say other than oops. If anyone is curious about who Laurence is, look up Laurence the first vicar, I don't care what anyone says, he's the hardest boss in bloodborne no contest, not even horseface is as cheap as him which is saying something. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 19** : Kuoh under siege part 3

"Kuh! What insane power… just what is this guy!?" Irina bit out a curse as her arms shook from yet another heavy blow from her opponent. Her arms were already starting to go numb from the repeated impacts and she didn't know just how much longer she could keep it up.

"He'll fall before us eventually, the lord wills it." Xenovia replied to her comrade while swinging Excalibur Destruction in a wide arc, trying to force their opponent back towards Koneko. It worked… somewhat. When Koneko tried to deliver a blow to his back, bone spikes shot out of his spine and narrowly avoided skewering her on them.

The petite rook had no recourse but to fall back or be turned into a human pincushion, a frown present on her normally expressionless face. The three of them plus Asia as support had been fighting one opponent for the better part of an hour now and they were no closer to winning than they were at the beginning.

On the contrary, their strength was starting to flag while their opponent still looked as fresh as ever. If it wasn't for Asia healing them whenever they were injured, they'd have fallen by now, those bone spikes of his were lethal. They tore through the energy shields like paper and Koneko's rook defence didn't put up much of a resistance either.

"None of you will interfere in his excellency's plans and you _will_ hand over the Excaliburs."

"We're never giving up the Excaliburs to a monster like you." Xenovia pointed her sword at the white-haired stray and fired off a wave of holy aura, destroying everything in her path except her target who'd already leapt to safety. "Just who are you?"

"I am D-13, formerly of the Sigurd Institute and I serve Valper-dono. As his enemies, you will die by my hand." The bone wielder said as he stomped his foot once, summoning a wave of spikes from the ground and pushing his opponents back.

Irina was too slow to dodge it all and her sword arm was nicked by one of the spikes, a vicious gash ran down her forearm and shocked by the pain, she dropped her Excalibur.

Not missing his chance, D-13 melded with one of the bone spikes near him and shot out of the one that nicked Irina, grabbing hold of the holy sword before anyone else could react and kicking the wounded exorcist away and onto a row of spikes, impaling her through her stomach.

"Valper-dono, I have secured one of the Excalibur fragments, I am sending it over now." A magic circle formed around D-13 and Mimic glowed gold and vanished into particles of light.

"AHHRRGGHH! NOOOOO! MIMIC!" Irina let out a horrified yell despite the pain as the sword entrusted to her by the church was stolen from right under her nose. D-13 took advantage of her lack of concentration and formed a bone lance before thrusting it straight towards her heart to finish her off.

A timely tackle from Asia pulled Irina off the bloody spike and prevented the lance from striking home at the cost of a painful line being carved down her back. Biting back a cry of pain and holding back the tears, the former nun spread her wings and dragged the exorcist to safety.

Any follow up from D-13 was halted by a simultaneous attack from both Xenovia and Koneko who were enraged by the injury of their friends. Despite their anger giving them a renewed burst of strength, Valper's enforcer still held them at bay.

"You're from the Sigurd Institute? You should be one of us! Why have you turned your back on the church traitor!?" Xenovia roared angrily as D-13 avoided another one of her slashes with his superior speed.

"I turned my back on no one exorcist. I was created by the Sigurd Institute to be the perfect weapon but due to a genetic flaw I was branded a failure and slated to be recycled instead. Valper-dono saved me before I could be processed, he gave me life and he gave me purpose. For that I will serve until this body fails me."

Koneko's stance faltered slightly after hearing D-13's words. 'He's just like Kiba-sempai…' She shook her head to rid herself of any doubts, however similar the two were, D-13 was an enemy and had to be defeated.

"And so you turned your back on God to serve a madman? I guess the Sigurd Institute had the right idea about putting you down." Xenovia spoke her thoughts aloud, unintentionally infuriating her opponent for the first time.

She noted her mistake immediately when the white-haired man's expression darkened and his attacks increased in intensity to the point where she was constantly being forced back without a single opportunity to counterattack.

"Do not speak of matters you know nothing about exorcist. I turned my back on no one! God turned his back on me! Do you even understand what it means to be recycled!?" D-13 all but yelled as he slashed at Xenovia rapidly with bone swords, replacing them every time they broke against Excalibur Destruction."

"Do tell." Xenovia managed to gasp out the words in between blocks with a show of bravado to hide just how unsettled she was. Her anxiety only increased when a crack formed on her sword under the repeated blows of the enraged stray.

She was given a brief reprieve when Koneko managed to sneak past D-13's guard to punch him in the side, sending him crashing through several trees.

To their disbelief, D-13 merely grunted and stood up, the punch and subsequent flight not having much impact on him at all. Koneko herself was shaking slightly, she'd hit him with all her might and it didn't even faze him. To top it off, it felt like punching a solid steel wall and if her reddening knuckles were anything to go by, he was a good deal sturdier than that.

"To be recycled is to be condemned to being a source of spare parts for other projects. Do you understand what that means!? I would be denied death, kept alive to be used as an organ farm… organs harvested while I am still very conscious and able to feel pain." His face was impassive but the pure rage in his eyes was unmistakable, aside from his hair, he might as well be a carbon copy of Kiba in one of his Excalibur induced rages.

The similarity was not lost on Koneko and she winced once again at having to fight him. Fate had not been kind to either and if circumstances had changed just a little, he might have been one of their comrades and Kiba in his place instead.

"His excellency saved me from that fate, and he has promised that he would see the Sigurd Institute levelled once he has achieved his dream. For that I will fight to my dying breath, so that your accursed church will never hurt anyone else ever again. This I swear on the blood of every one the church has ever let down."

"And so you serve Valper? The man responsible for the holy sword project? His hands are just as stained as those who wronged you!" Xenovia yelled out. Even if he was telling the truth, Valper's actions were still inexcusable and equally damning.

D-13 gave a short bark of laughter as he suppressed his urge to unleash his full might on the exorcist in front of him. Such an action would only cut away what precious little he had left of his life and that was unacceptable, he had to hold out until either the silver wing or the hunter appeared.

"I don't care, my only wish is to give my life in service to the man who saved me… now, enough talk, hand over your Excalibur and I'll make your death swift."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's the idea." Deciding he could afford to push himself slightly beyond safe limits, D-13 put on a sudden burst of speed and caught the exorcist off guard. Xenovia backpedalled as D-13 rushed her in a burst of speed and separated her from Koneko with a wall of bone.

Swinging her sword to counter the never-ending series of blows, she bit her lip in nervousness as the cracks on her blade started to grow larger with every block.

Finally, the inevitable happened and Excalibur Destruction broke under the stress, leaving her holding on to a hilt with a broken blade and not much else.

While she was still reeling from the shock of having her blade broken. D-13 delivered a brutal kick to her midsection while simultaneously grabbing on to her arm, dislocating it at the shoulder and prying the sword from her twitching fingers.

The next thing Xenovia knew, she was airborne and her impromptu flight was arrested by a brick wall. Sliding to the ground in pain, her arm was still dislocated and she was too out of it to even stand. She could only watch on helplessly as D-13 warped the sword away.

"His excellency's ambition will be realised, it's a shame you won't be around to see it."

Xenovia cursed when her body didn't respond to her commands to move and her opponent approached her with bone sword in hand. Koneko was still trying to smash through the multitude of bones forming a prison while Irina and Asia were nowhere to be found.

Not for the first time in her career, she cursed her overconfidence, if she had just pulled out her trump card from the beginning she might have won this fight. Now she was too injured to even summon it to hand.

D-13 raised his arm to deal the finishing blow and a strange look crossed his face for a second as his instincts screamed at him to dodge or die.

Trusting his gut, he tried to leap away but was too slow and numbness assailed his legs mid jump. A blue beam had passed through right beneath him and his legs were missing below the knees. The thunderclap struck him a split second later and the shockwave sent him flying.

Crashing to the ground in a heap, he struggled to sit up to assess the damage, he bit back a curse when he noticed that his legs now ended in charred stumps, the flesh carbonised from the heat of the plasma that scorched it. He could repair the damage but it would take time and shave off his already very limited lifeforce.

Relying on his willpower to avoid giving in to the pain now setting in, he directed a hateful glare towards the newcomer. An armoured figure emitting green light hovered in the air above the downed exorcist, a strange looking gun in his hand, the barrel still smoking from the shot that took his legs.

"What!?"

"For the crime of threatening _my_ home, I sentence you to death." Matsuda raised his railgun and took fired at the grounded D-13. When he didn't feel himself growing any stronger from the kill, he knew the bone wielder had somehow escaped his shot. True enough, D-13's battered form emerged from one of his nearby bone spikes.

Grunting from the exertion, D-13 forced bones to grow out from the stumps of his legs, reforming them into makeshift legs powered by his will alone. Struggling to his feet, he gave Matsuda a defiant glare which elicited an amused huff from the armoured titan.

"That weapon of yours… it belongs to the silver wing… who are you and how do you have that? You will answer me."

"…You are hardly in any position to give orders. As for the gun… just who do you think gave him the weapon in the first place?" Finishing in a sarcastic tone, Matsuda fired on D-13 again, reducing the area to ruin.

Once more, the stray stepped out of one of his bone spikes, this time missing an arm from where he was too slow to sink into the bone.

"Is running all you can do? I grow tired of this."

D-13 opened his mouth to retort when a communique came through from his master. The ceremony was about to begin and he was needed. Running away left a bad taste in his mouth but he had no choice in the matter.

"His excellency needs me… I will deal with you later." D-13 said before activating a magic circle around him and teleporting away, leaving an awed Koneko and Xenovia to stare up at their saviour.

Slowly lowering himself to the ground, he attached the railgun to his hip and raised both hands to show he meant no harm. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of Asia and Irina approaching, both of them had already been healed up by Asia's sacred gear.

He stood by and watched as Asia nervously skirted around him and started to heal the wounded Xenovia while Irina and Koneko stared at him with suspicion and curiosity in their eyes.

Xenovia was the first to break the silence that prevailed over them. "Why did you interfere?"

"Would you rather I have let you die?"

"…No. But as an unknown I need to be sure of your intentions. If you are a threat I will put you down."

"Excuse me if I doubt your ability to back up that threat."

"Ah um, what my colleague is trying to say is thank you for saving her and we just want to know what your purpose here is… _right_ Xenovia?" Irina interjected before Xenovia's blunt manner of speech could earn them a new foe.

The blue-haired exorcist merely nodded in silence as a response.

"Hmmph, I'm here to help in place of Issei. He's out of commission for the time being."

That drew a response from the other three. Asia and Irina were both worried about him and Koneko was understandably worried. The last time anyone had put him out of commission, he'd gone up against a cadre class fallen, Kokabiel was still causing havoc somewhere in Kuoh and for one of their heavy hitters to be taken out like this… it didn't bode well for them.

"Oh relax, he's fine and he'll be back soon. The son of a gun is harder to kill than me, which is saying something. Until he gets back though, I'll be fighting in his place." Matsuda spoke up when he noticed their worried looks.

"Ise-san is fine… praise the lord ow!" Asia gave thanks for Issei's safety and was immediately hit by a headache. Rubbing her temple, she spoke up again. "Ano, thank you very much for saving Xenovia-san and helping us… Mr... ummm…"

She trailed off when she realised she didn't know how to address their new ally.

"Guess you don't recognise me in this suit… no matter." Matsuda shrugged before removing his helmet.

"Matsuda-san?" Asia was more than a little surprised to see her classmate standing before her.

"Indeed."

"You know him Asia-san?" Irina queried.

"Hai, he's one of my classmates and a friend of Issei."

"This really isn't the time for introductions, I've already been briefed on your identities and I'll just get mine out of the way now. Federation special forces, 3rd div, rank major. Laserbeak, why the hell haven't the defences been activated yet?"

" **I lack the clearance to activate them major, only master has the codes."**

"Bloody hell… wait. He is using the equipment I supplied yes?"

" **Affirmative."**

"Ah, no problem in that case." Matsuda keyed a few buttons on his gauntlet before speaking into them. "Authorisation code 1-1-7-0-4-5-1- initiate."

[Code accepted.]

"I've unlocked all of them, you have control Laserbeak. Terminate all hostiles with extreme prejudice."

" **Sync complete. I give you my gratitude for your assistance."**

"Save it, just get rid of the bastards attacking Kuoh."

" **Affirmative."**

Rumbling could be felt all over Kuoh to the surprise of the combatants. Their surprise only increased when several of the still standing buildings split apart to reveal an assortment of automated defences in them.

Several of the fallen angels who were aware of human military hardware paled when they found themselves the target of an entire array of anti-air batteries and missile launchers. They didn't have very long to regret joining up with Kokabiel.

"Wha!? What's going on?" Irina was bewildered at the events unfolding around her.

"Nothing much, just a little welcoming present for anyone dumb enough to attack this town. Now, are you all still capable of fighting" Matsuda received a nod from Koneko and Xenovia, while Asia and Irina were unsure.

"I don't have my Excalibur anymore…" She trailed off after that, without the holy sword, there wasn't much she could do to the fallen.

"Can you use a gun?" Matsuda could only sigh when he received a negative, he withdrew his crystal dagger and tossed it to the exorcist. "Crystal blade, will cut through anything, hit button to activate, hit again to burst the blade, repeat when needed. Try not to get yourself killed."

"…Who are you really? And what is this federation you speak of?"

Matsuda neglected answering Xenovia's question in favour of watching the smoking carcass of a fallen angel sail by overhead. "This is hardly the time for that. You have swords to retrieve, don't you? If you will excuse me, I have to go help Motohama now."

"Motohama-san?"

"Yes. Currently fighting some elf with ten black wings… I don't suppose you lot know anything about that? No? Well, in any case, I'm needed elsewhere, try not to get yourselves killed now." Matsuda gave a bow and left the four behind as he shot off into the sky before they could ask any more questions.

-line break

Haruna slammed an armoured fist into a fallen angel, breaking his jaw and sending him hurtling towards the ground and a missile intercepted his body moment later, engulfing him in a fireball that soon faded from existence.

Her mouth set in a grim line, she ruthlessly suppressed any inkling of regret in her heart before continuing to fight. There was no room for mercy or hesitation now, not with two of the keystones already destroyed.

If even one more fell, the real Kuoh would be in danger and civilian casualties would be inevitable. Her parents, her friends everyone she ever met in this town… they would become victims of a mad man's machinations if she faltered here.

That knowledge granted her a boost in her resolve and she fired off a dragon shot towards a group of stray exorcists trying to break through the barrier around the arcade, vaporising them in an instant.

Flapping her wings hard, she dove towards the ground to avoid a barrage of light spears. Narrowing her eyes at the group of fallen responsible, a quick glance was enough to tell that there were too many to take out with one dragon shot.

Her boosts had almost been used up and she had one burst left in her before the reset. Raynare was off dealing with several squads of her own and reinforcements never showed, leaving her on her own.

Continuing to dodge their attacks, she decided to risk it all on a gamble. Hoping they'd prioritize taking her down over destroying the keystone in the arcade, she took a deep breath before cussing them out and tossing a few half-hearted balls of demonic power towards them.

A smile flickered across her face briefly as they reacted just as she'd hoped. Their angry curses were music to her ears as she kept taunting them while falling back towards one of the few missile batteries in the area that hadn't been destroyed yet.

The plan worked like a charm and the fallen entered the weapon's firing range before long, Haruna laughed as the turret swivelled around to target the group, all of them still blissfully unaware of the trap about to be sprung.

"Goodbye."

[Transfer.]

Dumping the last of her power into the turret, she landed on the ground as the supercharged weapon fired. The ensuing explosions shattered every window for miles in every direction and the sky became an unending sea of orange.

The sound was deafening and despite being a good distance away from the blast, the shockwave still threatened to knock her over.

As she stared in awe at the sheer magnitude of the destruction she caused, Haruna was dimly aware of Raynare landing unsteadily next to her.

"D-did you do that on purpose?"

A nod.

"I guess badassery runs in the family after all… but damn, do you know the meaning of restraint?"

"This isn't the time to be holding back."

"That's… fair… I guess. How you holding up?"

"I'm fine and I'll be better once all this is over." Haruna said before looking in the direction of Kuoh academy. She could sense an immense amount of holy energy coming from it, considering that's where Sona's peerage was stationed, that didn't bode well.

"Go, I'll handle things here. Your buddies might need you." As though sensing what Haruna was thinking, Raynare spoke up with a smile.

"…Thank you Raynare-san."

Watching the girl fly off, Raynare continued waving for a bit before her smile faded. "Well she's gone, you can come out now."

Spinning around with a light spear in hand, she found herself facing a single enemy fallen. The eight jet-black wings protruding from his back marked him as one of Kokabiel's lieutenants.

"I suppose trying to convince you to join us is futile then."

"Of course, I've always been a stubborn one, surely you remember that _sensei._ " Raynare spat the words out in a bitter tone.

"What a waste of talent. To think you'd betray the Grigori and side with those devil scum."

"Talent sensei? Really? As I recall, you always did refer to me as your most worthless student. And you have no right to call me a traitor, last I checked only one of here is acting against Azazel-sama's orders and it most certainly isn't me."

"You were weak then, clearly you've improved now. Azazel is a fool. The fallen will reign supreme, we have the ability to crush both heaven and the devils and he chooses to hide away like a coward tinkering with sacred gears. He's the real traitor to the fallen, Kokabiel-sama will see us returned to glory."

"…I don't know why I ever looked up to you in the past. You're just a blind fool. Enough, I won't let you cause anymore havoc here."

Eschewing any further words, Raynare increased her aura to the maximum and her spears glow intensified to a blinding degree. Catching her former teacher off guard with the sudden illumination, Raynare hurled the spear at him and remotely detonated it before he could escape.

Forming two light daggers in hand, she rushed into the cloud of smoke to maintain the initiative, there was no way he would be defeated that easily.

A bolt of light narrowly missing her head proved her point. Keeping her cool, she started jabbing at him with the daggers, occasionally causing them to explode to deal damage to him.

"Naïve child, you've never been able to defeat me and you never will."

"Let's put that to the test, shall we?"

-line break

Kiba and Dohnaseek were standing at the school gates cursing. Valper lay just beyond them but with the amount of holy aura being concentrated in the place, neither of them could get any closer without being disintegrated. They were the only ones here presently as Sona's peerage had scattered to deal with what appeared to be every surviving stray exorcist mounting a massed assault.

The genocide archbishop had taken advantage of the confusion to sneak past their lines and into the fake school building. He now sat alone in the middle of a magic circle spanning the school. Six holy swords glowing with power surrounded him, circling the old man.

Kiba grit his teeth in frustration as the object of his hatred lay just out of his reach. His rage only grew as Valper's laughter reached his ears.

"I've done it, I've done it! Ahahahahaha! With six swords here, I can summon the missing seventh fragment… come to me my beautiful Excalibur!" As he finished speaking, he clapped his hands together and a brilliant light burst into being above his head.

When it faded, a seventh blade hung over him, for the first time in centuries the seven Excalibur fragments had been gathered in one place.

"Now, I will reforge the legendary sword. My dream will finally come true and no one, not the devils and not that bastard Michael will stop me."

"Yo old man! Once you're done with it, can I take it out for a spin? I got a score to settle with those bastards at the gate." A fully restored Shinn called out to his employer after catching sight of the duo standing at the gates.

"Hmm… you're welcome to try, but don't blame me if the sword vaporises you."

"Heh, you worry too much old man. No sword is beyond my ability to wield."

Valper didn't reply to that comment, instead focusing all his attention on the last touches of his spell. Years and years of research culminated in this moment, when the legendary holy sword would be made whole again. Success was so close he could taste it.

"Your excellency."

"Eh?" He was distracted momentarily by D-13's voice coming from his side. The bone wielder was approaching with an unsteady gait, multiple cracks running through his replacement limbs as his power was starting to fade with what little remained of his life.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

"There's a problem. An unknown has sided with the devils, he appears to be at least as much of a threat as the silver wing. I couldn't stop him."

"Tch, how worthless." Valper cursed at the bad news.

"My deepest apologies your excellency."

"No matter, the seven swords will become one soon and whoever the newcomer is he won't be able to stand up to the blade."

"Yes, your excellency." D-13 gave a bow and stood by, hiding the hurt inside him at having failed his benefactor and being written off as worthless.

The six surrounding blades intensified their aura before gravitating towards the seventh. When they made contact, the light was blinding.

Kiba shielded his eyes from the glare and waited as it faded along with the oppressive aura. His eyes burned with hate as he witnessed a single ornate sword remaining where there used to be seven. He wanted to attack so badly right now but the holy aura had yet to be reduced to a level where he could approach.

None of his attacks made it close either, his blades simply dissipated into wisps of demonic energy that faded in the wind whenever he tried tossing his sword or summoning them from the ground.

"O-oi, devil." Dohnaseek began hesitantly. "How long until reinforcements from the underworld arrive? If that really is the true Excalibur there's no way we can deal with it on our own. I'm not sure if even the boss can fight it."

Kiba shook his head before replying. "They're not coming."

"WHAT!?"

"Kokabiel jammed our communications and we have no way of even contacting the maou for help. As far as the underworld is concerned, today is just another ordinary day."

Dohnaseek's shoulders slumped at the news. "We're dead… you have any idea on how to deal with that sword?"

Kiba summoned the strongest blade he had to his hands. "We hit it until it breaks."

"…Yep. We're dead."

Valper was practically jumping for joy now as the fruits of his labour floated in front of him in all its glory. "It is wondrous…" He whispered in awe.

"Oooh… nice sword. Can I use it now?" Shinn reached for the sword as soon as Valper nodded. Upon grabbing it, its holy aura spiked and filled the chimera with a rush of power. "AHAHAHAHA IT IS GLORIOUS!"

Swinging the blade once to test out its might, the legendary sword unleashed a wave of power that completely erased the main school building. Not even rubble was left.

Dohnaseek gulped at the display of power as well as the tiny fact that one of the keystones was hidden inside the school building.

" **Attention, the third keystone has been destroyed. The real Kuoh town will now start to return, the reversion will be complete in one hour. The loss of any further keystones will accelerate the process."**

Laserbeak's words were like a death kneel to the defenders and those still locked in combat redoubled their efforts, desperation fuelling their blows.

"That sword must be destroyed." Kiba rushed towards Shinn once the holy aura dropped to tolerable levels. The insane chimera cackled before meeting his charge.

Kiba's sword shattered instantly after clashing with the Excalibur once, the raw power within overwhelming anything his sacred gear could come up with.

Undaunted, he summoned another blade to fight with and another one after that when it too shattered. The one bit of good news he had was that the holy sword either didn't have the abilities of the fragments or its user was incapable of harnessing them.

"Muda muda muda! Ahahahahahahha! There's no way your puny toothpicks will be able to hurt this baby. Ahahahahahah!" Shinn continued cackling as he swung his new toy, sending waves of energy in all directions and keeping the knight at bay.

"You have no right to hold that sword!" Kiba ducked under a swing and stabbed at Shinn's exposed chest. Running the chimera all the way through with the sword, he was forced to fall back to avoid Shinn's other arm from crushing his skull.

The chimera ripped the demonic sword out of the wound and crushed it in his hand, the wound already sealing itself shut without any impact on him.

Kiba dropped to one knee in pain as his vision blurred. Sucking in a deep breath, he forced himself to stand again and summon a new sword. Shinn had yet to land a blow on him and it was readily apparent that he didn't need to.

The holy aura being released from the sword on its own was enough to do damage to his body. Continuing to close with the chimera would only result in more pain and eventually he'd slow enough for Shinn to deliver the coup de grace.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he resumed his attack, using his hate and despair to empower his blows. For his fallen comrades, for his new ones, for Kuoh… he'd fight until his body broke. Pulling out every trick and tactic he'd learned from his sensei and Issei and tossing in magic occasionally, he gave breaking the Excalibur his all.

Valper stared at Kiba with interest, his blond hair jogging a long-forgotten memory. "Oya? The blond devil over there, you were one of the subjects for the holy sword project aren't you?"

Kiba broke away from the chimera before glaring at the man responsible for the horror he went through. "So you still remember the failures you cast aside."

"Failures? Oh no my boy, you were hardly failures."

"What!?" Kiba's eyes widened in surprise when he heard those words.

"You see, thanks to you all, I figured out the requirements for a person to wield a holy sword. A special element is required for it, it exists in every human but the quantity of it varies and only one with sufficient element will be able to wield an Excalibur or it will not work."

Valper gave a mocking laugh as he recalled the day he was passed over for wielding one of the blades due to a lack of 'affinity'.

"Then it came to me, what if I could extract the element from others, concentrate it and then implant it in an individual. I'd be able to create artificial Excalibur wielders that way, wouldn't I? Thanks to the experiments carried out on you lab rats, I succeeded in extracting and crystalizing the element. Behold."

Valper retrieve a glowing orb from his robes, and displayed it for all to see. With Shinn guarding him, he feared nothing and took the time to gloat.

"With just one of these implanted, anyone becomes capable of wielding an Excalibur and the synchronisation only goes up with every additional orb."

"WHY!?" Kiba shouted the question at Valper. "If you've already succeeded then why!? Why'd you kill us all? ANSWER ME!"

"Hmmph, that's a stupid question. You've already served your purposes, why wouldn't I dispose of you? Letting you all live on would be unnecessary and a waste of resources after all. You should be glad, with their deaths, they would have died being of use to me, frankly, such an honour is more than they deserved." Valper spoke in a callous tone much to Kiba's disbelief.

"Just… just for that you killed everyone… VAALLLLPPPEEEERRRR!" Breaking out into an anguished wail towards the end, Kiba lost himself to his rage and charged straight for the object of his hate.

He never made it as D-13 broke off from fighting Dohnaseek and stepped in front of Valper. Stamping his feet once, he willed a single bone spike to shoot out from the ground and impale the charging knight.

Unable to dodge in time due to his own rage blinding him, Kiba ran straight into it, the spike only narrowly missing his vitals. Coughing up blood as the spike held him in the air. He struggled weakly to pull himself from the bone.

"Tsk tsk tsk, foolish boy, you should have died with the rest, that way your life would have meaning. And now you-" His words were interrupted by a massive ball of crimson demonic energy that Shinn deflected.

A thoroughly pissed off Rias Gremory cloaked in power glared at the man responsible for putting her knight through hell and obliterated the bone spike with another burst of power. Akeno swooped in and dragged the knight to safety where Asia began healing him immediately.

"How dare you. How. Dare. You. On my honour as a Gremory, I swear that you will not leave Kuoh alive for everything you've done."

"Ahahahaha, if you want to get to the old man, you need to beat me first. Say… aren't you the maou's younger sister? Ahahahahhaah if I kill you I get the war I've been looking for… neh, won't you die for me?"

"Oh yes, the Gremory heiress, this should make an excellent test of the new blade." Valper looked at the orb in his hand before shrugging and tossing it towards the downed Kiba who caught it in his shaking hands. Even in his pain, he would not allow what remained of his comrades to be disrespected.

"That is the last one leftover from that time. I've already used the rest on Shinn here, it is quite remarkable how much a chimera's body can withstand. Most people die after having even one of them implanted, to think he'd be able to hold three. Do whatever you want with that ball, I don't need it anymore, not when there's only _one_ Excalibur left."

Kiba could feel the holy aura from the ball in his hands, it was familiar to him. His comrades… it was as though he could feel them all again. Hot tears of grief and rage ran down his cheeks as his attention was focused on it.

He felt a boost of power as Haruna used gift on everyone in the vicinity to allow them to stand against the holy aura being exuded by Excalibur.

With that power came a rush of negative emotions. All the rage, anger, pain and despair he'd shoved into a dark corner of himself until recently came pouring out in a surge. His mind focused on two things, the fact that the ball in hand held the essence of his comrades and the fact that three of it was inside the monster known as Shinn.

It was too much, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Kiba willingly gave in to the emotions rushing through him and dunked himself in the abyss… and relished in it.

He felt it, his sacred gear was calling out to him. Its true power lay waiting for him to just reach out and grab it if only he would give his inner darkness free reign. And give it free reign he did.

The rest of the world faded away and the concerned shouts of the other devils and Dohnaseek faded into background noise before vanishing completely, leaving only the beating of his heart and the words echoing in his head.

The words that demanded to be spoken for the first time in centuries.

He opened his mouth to speak.

-line break

Pure power burst forth from Kiba's body, pushing aside the devils clustered around him and his body became shrouded in black miasma.

"W-what the heck is this." Haruna was the first to put voice to the question running through everyone's minds. Even Shinn, D-13 and Valper had stopped to look in interest.

 **[This power… why is it so familiar to me?]**

"Ddraig? You know what's going on?"

 **[I know this from before I was sealed… my memory is… oh no. Stop him! He cannot be allowed to call it back to existence… HURRY!]**

"W-what are you- KYAAA!" Haruna began to question her partner when a new burst of demonic energy burst forth from the blond knight, forming a pillar into the sky and drawing the attention of everyone still alive in Kuoh.

Even Kokabiel, Matsuda and Motohama halted their battle to stare in its direction.

-line break

The power of hate, the willingness to go to any length for victory, the resolve to pay the ultimate price. Kiba embraced it all.

Valper would pay for his transgressions.

And that sword, that accursed holy sword.

An antithesis to everything he was and ever will be.

It should not exist.

It could not be allowed to exist.

It will not exist.

Kiba floated in the darkness of his soul, drifting towards a single point within him where the darkness itself seemed to shine, paradoxical as it was.

He reached it and grasped it with both hands even as his body stood up in the waking world.

The power continued to pour forth and he willed the world to respond to his desires.

" **The betrayer, the betrayed, the betrayer is in turn betrayed. I reject the light. I reject the darkness. And in turn I embrace the twilight. I hold the truth of lies and I will bring an end to order with the fires of hatred."**

[Balance break.]

The devils were forced to take another step back as holy energy started pouring out of Kiba to the shock of everyone present.

The world responded to Kiba's wish and the massive outpouring of energy formed a vortex around the knight. Streams of holy and demonic power fed into the glowing orb in hand and it started shooting out rays of both light and darkness.

"T-this… what is happening? This cannot be!" Valper's shouts were lost in the cacophony of the maelstrom surrounding Kiba.

Slowly but surely, the energy coalesced around the orb as it shrunk inwards, forming a sword in Kiba's hand.

"A-a h-holy d-demonic sword…" Valper trailed off in disbelief as he stared at the undeniable proof of the impossible before him.

Even the insane Shinn was forced to take a step back as he stared at his own blade in surprise. Excalibur was reacting to that blade for some reason and not in a good way. If he had to put it in words, he'd say the sword itself was afraid of what Kiba was holding.

For his part Kiba merely grasped the sword in both hands and lifted it up. He knew what he held in his hands was a power that should never have existed but did anyway. He could feel the storied history of the blade in his hand and its origins rang clear in his mind as though he wielded it in every one of its battles.

He'd summoned a holy demonic sword, the first holy demonic sword to have ever existed.

Originally a holy sword, an act of treachery corrupted the blade. The hatred of its wielder infected the sword of peace with the desire to wage war and when it was used to kill his own father, the betrayal and transformation was complete.

Sealed away by the God of the bible and knowledge of it scourged from existence, its truth had been lost to history, in time becoming nothing more than a footnote in a legend.

Kiba's will had brought it back into existence and neither of them would stop until the mockery in front of them had been ground to dust.

" **Sword of the betrayer. Clarent."**

* * *

Author's note: Excalibur arc is coming to a close soon. University is starting soon and life is getting pretty hectic nowadays. This fic might go on hiatus for a bit until things settle down but I'll get through the current arc before then at least. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 20** : Swords of the king

Tears of black blood ran down Kiba's cheeks as the blond knight roared, a terrifying sound filled with his bloodlust and rage.

Standing amidst the ruins of Kuoh academy while enshrouded in black miasma that continued to grow with every passing moment, Kiba was more monster than man now.

The malice he was exuding was suffocating and the devils had already evacuated the immediate area, the holy aura being put out by both Shinn and Kiba too much for them to take. D-13 and Valper had likewise made their own exit, leaving the chimera to duel Kiba.

"Damnit, what is going on with that sword, Ddraig, you know what that blade is don't you?"

 **[That is a nightmare that should have remained forgotten.]**

Ddraig's words inspired confidence in no one and only served to increase their worries. "What is happening with my knight… answer me!" The worry was evident in Rias' voice and Ddraig remained silent for a few moments before speaking again.

 **[I believe you are all aware of the legend of Excalibur? It is the most famous sword King Arthur ever wielded, but it isn't the only one.]**

"You refer to the sword in the stone then?" Xenovia spoke up at this point while still keeping an eye on the battle.

 **[Yes and no. The king had three swords in his life, the sword that anoints Caliburn, the sword of victory Excalibur and… the sword of peace Clarent.]**

"Clarent… Kiba spoke that name before… before this." Rias wracked her brain trying to recall any scrap of information about a blade by that name and came up blank.

 **[Indeed. All three of them were holy swords but Clarent was unique, it was never meant to see battle. It served as an icon of peace and was only brought out to confer knighthood upon the worthy.]**

"What changed?"

 **[King Arthur's treacherous son stole the blade and used it to wage a rebellion against his father after being denied the crown. His hatred infected the sword itself, corrupting the blade, turning it into the only holy demonic sword in existence and with it he slew his father in combat. I know not how it ended but the God of the bible sealed the sword away after Mordred's passing and records of the heretical weapon was stricken from history. I never thought I'd ever see that nightmare return.]**

"He'll stop once he breaks the Excalibur, won't he?"

 **[…I don't know. Mordred's hatred is still very much present in the sword. That man rejected the world and everything in it, the curse on the blade reflects that. I don't think your friend will stop until he's destroyed everything or is himself destroyed.]**

-line break

Clarent met Excalibur in a shower of sparks and a shockwave was released from their clash, further wrecking the area. Kiba gave an inarticulate howl before forcing the chimera back with his blade.

Beads of sweat ran down Shinn's face as the pressure mounted. While cursing up a storm, worry was starting to grow in his heart. His new body hadn't fully adapted to him yet and transforming was beyond him now… and he wasn't even sure if doing so would help against the berserk devil.

His face paled when Kiba abruptly broke away from their blade lock only to grasp Clarent with both hands and raised it above his head. The dark aura around the holy demonic sword expanded to form a skyscraper sized pillar of darkness rising into the sky.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MEEEEEE!" Shinn roared to the heavens as he replicated Kiba's actions, forming his own pillar of light with Excalibur's holy aura.

Both combatants brought their weapons down at the same time, the resulting clash unleased a blast of pure energy that levelled everything within a mile of them. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast zone had their existences extinguished instantly.

The only upside for the defenders was that no keystones were destroyed in the blast and thanks to Laserbeak's directing the battle, all friendly forces had already evacuated the area.

The devils floated high above ground zero while holding up the two exorcists. They could only watch on in stunned silence at the devastation below them, the amount of damage down was easily comparable to an ultimate class attack. This was way beyond anything they'd anticipated facing even when they heard that Kokabiel was in town.

And if the sounds of clashing metal and the occasional bursts of light coming from within the smoking ruins were anything to go by, both sides were still hard at it.

After a few tense moments of not being able to see or sense what was going on in the smoke due to all the aura pollution, a battered Shinn came flying out of it. Ploughing through one of the few remaining intact houses at supersonic speeds, he dug a long trench in the ground before coming to a halt. Somehow managing to keep hold of his sword during his flight, the blade's glow was weak and flickering intermittently.

The rest of the smoke was blown away as Kiba swung his blade outwards, releasing a shockwave to clear away the smoke.

The blond knight's appearance had changed greatly. His hair was no longer the bright gold it once was, now it had been bleached white. His eyes had likewise changed, while they continued to bleed black blood, he now had heterochromia. Right eye burned a brilliant gold while his left was an icy blue, both mismatched eyes stared at Shinn's fallen form with cold fury in them.

His uniform was a tattered mess but the black miasma surrounding him was starting to coalesce into a suit of armour.

" **You will not beat me with that mockery of a sword."** Kiba spoke in a whisper yet his words managed to be heard by all present, his earlier unrestrained rage had been repressed and the knight was all the more dangerous for it.

"This is impossible… I have Excalibur… how the hell can I lose?" Shinn was babbling in his inability to comprehend the situation. The sword's protection had weakened and he could feel it in his bones, it had protected him once but it would not do so against the hit like that.

" **Excalibur? Foolish plebeian, do not mock me. There is no way that pathetic mockery is the sword of victory… to think even now that blade would oppose me diminished as it is…"** Kiba growled and tightened his grip around Clarent.

" **Just how far are you going to deny me my destiny father. Kinghood is my birth right and no one will keep me from it any more. Not the world and most certainly not you."**

Kiba vanished in a burst of speed and only a panicked jerk of Shinn's arm prevented Clarent from stabbing into his heart. The tip of Kiba's sword scrapped against the flat of his opponent's blade before sliding off and impaling itself in the ground, millimetres away from Shinn.

The chimera rolled away in a panic before trying to escape. Kiba was not impressed and unleased a wave of power and sliced off Shinn's legs at the knees. Still trying to escape, he started crawling away from Kiba, dragging his body forwards with his arms.

" **Trying to flee? Shameful display. To think a coward like you would sully that sword with your unworthy hands… my father must be rolling in his grave now."**

"Fuck you! Who the hell are you!? How dare you do this to me!?"

" **I am Mordred, son of king Arthur and rightful king. For the crime of standing against me, the punishment is death and I am your executioner."** The possessed knight raised his sword overhead and brought it down on Shinn, delivering blow after blow after blow as the chimera desperately did his best to protect himself from the onslaught.

The chimera's eyes widened when he heard a distinct crack and noticed a small fracture on the blade that was emitting light. With every further strike, the fracture widened.

He was given a reprieve when several bone bullets forced Kiba/Mordred to block them and thus giving Shinn an opportunity to crawl away with all the speed he could muster.

D-13 continued firing his finger bones at the knight as he did his best to draw attention away from Shinn. When the chimera had reached a good distance from Kiba/Mordred, D-13 tossed a small crystal to him.

"Go. Get out of here, Valper-dono is waiting, the Excalibur must not fall into enemy hands. I will hold him here."

"Kuh! Like I need you to tell me that." Shinn crushed the crystal in hand and a magic circle formed around him, warping him to safety. Kiba/Mordred merely huffed as he escaped, whether or not Shinn stayed to fight mattered little to them. they'd hunt him down eventually.

Once Shinn had been safely evacuated with the Excalibur, D-13 halted his barrage and grew out two bone longswords to engage the knight. Kiba/Mordred parried the oncoming attacks with Clarent before analysing the bone wielder.

"… **You are dying are you not… and still you fight me. Why throw away your life so recklessly?"**

"Valper-dono is my saviour, to repay his kindness, I will fight until my dying breath. I will not allow you to impede his ambition!" D-13 shrugged off his opponent's words and redoubled his efforts. He only needed to hold out a little more before Valper could leave Kuoh with the Excalibur. From the very beginning he knew he would not live to see out the day but if he could buy victory with his life, it would be worth it in the end.

" **Your loyalty is impressive… such a shame that you serve one so unworthy."**

"Lies! Valper-dono is a greater man than you'll ever be!"

" **Misguided fool. Valper is just another monster that needs to be put down, I will never forgive what he's done to me, to my comrades. He murdered all of us just because he could, how do you justify that? And… I remember how he addressed you earlier, he doesn't care about you, so why do you still serve him?"**

"…Valper-dono saved my life. He gave me purpose. In return, my life belongs to him and I will serve to the very end."

" **He used you. Abandoned you. Do you think he'll shed even a tear once you've passed? I think not. He is unworthy of your loyalty."** Kiba/Mordred increased the force behind his attacks slightly and destroyed D-13's weapons before kicking him in the chest and sending him flying back.

As the bone wielder tried to rise to his feet, he started coughing up blood as his body could no longer weather the strain. His disease and the overuse of his powers had pushed his body beyond the limit and he was paying the price now.

The drugs Valper had given him had worn off and pain wracked his body. Vision blurry and limbs shaking from the strain, he still struggled to stand again. He grit is teeth in frustration when Kiba/Mordred started clapping instead of cutting him down then and there, in his opinion the teen had already written him off as less than a threat.

" **Such magnificent loyalty, will you not join me? I could use someone like you in my court, loyalty like yours is hard to come by and it'd be a waste to just let you die here."**

"Silence! I… I serve V-Valper-d-dono. You'd never understand!"

" **I wouldn't? I serve Rias Gremory as her knight after she saved me when your** _ **master**_ **tried to have me murdered. I continue to serve because she is worthy of my loyalty. If I were ill like you are, I know for a fact that she wouldn't rest until a cure is found, unlike Valper."**

"What are y-you talking about?" D-13 managed to force the words out despite the pain.

" **Valper is man who managed to reforge that broken blade… incomplete as it is. That should have been impossible but he did it anyway. Do you really believe that he couldn't find a way to cure you given that? Naïve. You are nothing more than a tool to him, to be used and cast aside. You think of yourself as a servant… in his eyes you are far less than that. I can see it in his mannerisms. Hahahaha… he didn't even bother to give you a name."**

"…Lie…" D-13 whispered the word as Kiba/Mordred's speech struck home and forced him to consider several points that he'd refused to entertain in the past.

The former experiment of the Sigurd institute gave a pain and sorrow filled roar as he straightened his back and punched himself in the face. "I DON'T CARE! YOU WILL NOT BREAK MY RESOLVE!"

Growing out the bones in his right arm into a lance, he dumped everything he had left into it, making it as hard as possible. Grasping it with his left, he prepared to charge at the infernal knight, even if he died in the process, he would land at least one hit on him.

" **My mercy has limits, if you charge, I will cut you down."** Seeing that D-13 had no intention of backing down, Kiba/Mordred sighed and shook his head. **"So be it then… what a shame, if we met in another life, we might have been friends."**

Giving one last defiant roar, D-13 forced his body to give everything he had in one last blow. The concrete cracked beneath his feet as he pushed off with inhuman strength, shooting towards Kiba/Mordred like a bullet, lance poised to deliver a single thrust through the heart.

Kiba/Mordred gave a small shake of his head before slashing out at D-13 with blinding speed, aiming to decapitated the misguided bone wielder in a single swing.

Neither attack connected as an instant before the two could make contact, a third figure appeared in between them, blocking both their strikes with his own weapons.

A rusty blade held off Clarent while a glowing dagger deflected the bone lance into the ground.

Head still bowed, he forced both weapons to remain where they were despite their owners attempts to overpower him. Slowly straightening his back while the blue sparks faded, he gave a grin and abruptly released his grip on his own.

While both parties were surprised by the sudden loss in resistance, he swiftly extended both arms and delivered a solid punch to their chests, sending them tumbling back.

Issei gave a short laugh as he caught his blades before they reached the ground. "Yo. Did ya miss me?"

-line break

10 minutes ago

Issei was dreaming, at least he believed he was. Standing in the middle of a grassy field, a wide lake lay before him and the sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, colouring everything a shade of gold. A gentle breeze blew by and ruffled his hair as he turned on the spot to survey his surroundings.

A magnificent castle loomed behind him and its white walls glowed bright enough in the evening light that it still hurt to look at. Temporarily blinded by its brilliance, Issei raised his arm to block the glare until his eyes adjusted.

As he lowered his arm, he found himself face to face with an old man in a suit of battered armour with his hands folded around a rusty sword planted in the ground.

"Okay… am I dreaming?"

"You could say that." The old man gave a hearty laugh before answering Issei. "This is a manifestation of a dream I had in my youth."

"Okay… so why am I here, and who are you?" Issei tried to reach for Sentinel to no avail, whatever was going on here, he was cut off from his partner… again.

The old man gave a sad smile at Issei's question and heaved a sigh before speaking again. "I'm just a foolish old man and a terrible father with too many regrets to count. I don't know why you're here but I can only assume my desire for help called you here."

"…I see." Issei muttered and shrugged. "Well, I don't appear to be waking up anytime soon so let's hear it."

"Pardon?"

"You needed help yes? If it is within reason, I don't mind seeing if I'm able to be of assistance."

"Ahh… I would be most grateful if you succeeded." The old man closed his eyes and took a deep breath as a shudder ran through him. "Once, providence decreed that I was to be king, and become king I did. I led my people through years of conflict and suffering in search of peace. The road was long and hard and I sacrificed much on the journey."

The bitterness in his voice was palpable as he continued. "I did what I thought was right, and in doing so I turned my back on honour and betrayed the trust of my knights." He choked out a small sob at this point and Issei took the chance to interrupt.

"You're only human, people make mistakes all the time. King or not, you're hardly all-knowing or all-powerful. Don't beat yourself up over it, besides it's all in the past now, isn't it?"

"Some mistakes follow you for a lifetime and beyond. My weakness resulted in the fracturing of my kingdom and the deaths of nearly everyone who followed me."

"Oh."

"That said, my greatest failure was letting my son down… for two decades I didn't even know I had a son. Borne in secret away from my court, he set out to join my knights as soon as he was able. Unlike the others in my circle, he had no special talent, no magical ability, all he had was determination. Despite all the challenges in his path, he succeeded and became a member of my knights, never once letting the truth of his parentage slip."

The old man sighed again and seemed to age several more decades in an instant. "All he ever wanted was to make me proud… and I never figured out our relation until it was too late. I never gave him my blessing, always in the shadow of his compatriots, the resentment built in him until he was consumed by hate."

"…Why didn't he ever say anything?"

"My son believed in the value of hard work, he didn't want anything to be handed to him by virtue of his blood. I never learned the truth until the day of his rebellion, someone whispered lies in his ears and he bought into it. When we fought, he honestly believed I already knew and deliberately snubbed his efforts… given how I tended to focus more on the others, I had no way of refuting his statement… it was too late by then anyway."

Issei fidgeted uncomfortably on the spot as he listened. This wasn't a situation he could handle with his regular methods and the whole letting down family bit struck a little too close to home. "Alright, so how exactly can I help you? No offense and all but you've both been dead for quite a while now so I don't really know how I can help now."

"My son isn't dead. He was sealed away with his sword and I can feel that he has returned to this world. I fear his hate is still in control of him, please, stop him, save him from himself."

"Uh… I'm not sure if I'm the man you should be looking for but I'll do my best."

"Thank you." The first genuine smile lit up the old man's face and he gestured for Issei to pick up the rusty sword. As Issei did so, the world started to fade to white as knowledge was rushed into his mind.

His eyes snapped open as soon as the world faded entirely and he awoke to find himself lying on a bed with both the rusty sword and his holy dagger lying on his chest.

"Awake are you, I'll get the admiral on the line."

"No time doc, I'm needed elsewhere." Issei said as he grasped both weapons in hand and had another info dump courtesy of his familiar back in Kuoh. The situation had gone completely pear shaped and he didn't have time to stick around any longer.

"Haaah… you're just like the major aren't you, I guess telling you to stay in bed isn't going to work? Haaaah, just try not to get yourself hurt again."

"No promises doc." Issei gave the doctor a smile and vanished in a burst of sparks.

-line break

" **Why do you interfere? He is an enemy is he not? Why would you protect him?"**

"Protect him? If he lives, he lives. I'm here to stop you. Get out of my friend's body you damned ghost." Issei didn't budge from where he stood between his possessed friend and D-13, rusty sword directed at Kiba/Mordred.

" **You dare oppose me? I can tell you are weakened and all you have is a rusty blade and a dagger, what could you possibly hope to accomplish?"** The knight gave an unamused huff at Issei.

The bone wielder for his part didn't question the fortuitous turn of events and used what energy he had left to escape. With infighting between his enemies, he wasn't needed here any longer. Rendezvousing with Valper was his new priority.

"Issei!" Haruna called out to her brother as she landed besides him.

"Nee-san, leave Kiba to me. Help the rest, there's less than twenty minutes left before the real Kuoh returns. Every stray exorcist and hostile fallen here must be defeated before then."

"You sure you can handle it? You don't look too good." Despite appearances, Issei hadn't recovered from his earlier beating and his condition was obvious to his sister.

"Of course, nee-san, I just need to knock some sense into him… I'll be fine."

"…Fine, I'll trust you, but be careful, that sword isn't normal." Pushing aside her own worries, the Sekiryuutei gave Issei a word of warning before using gift on him. "Here, a boost for luck."

Euphoria filled Issei as the boost of power he received far exceeded his expectations, the power boost from his own twice critical could hardly compare to this. He nodded as Haruna gave him a pat on the back before flying off.

"I'm surprised you didn't attack just now."

" **I will not stoop to such dishonourable means."**

"Heh, I thought I told you this already, save the honour for duels." Issei warped behind Kiba/Mordred and lashed out with his dagger, attempting to plant the blade between in his back.

His strike was countered with a sudden backhand and the fight was on.

Issei promoted to knight and used his own speed to keep up with his opponent who seemed to grow stronger with every second that passed.

Both combatants became blurs as their battle raged on, only the sparks from their clashing blades marked their positions.

When they finally separated, Kiba/Mordred was none the worse for wear while Issei was breathing hard, the holy aura being exuded from Clarent was starting to take its toll on him despite the boost he received.

"What do you even fight for?"

" **Vengeance, this world rejected me and so I will burn it all to ash."**

"And what about Rias then? Didn't you swear to serve her loyally as her knight? She is your king."

" **I HAVE NO KING/** Of course I serve Rias. G **RRA** GGH **HH** H!" The conflict between the two sides gave the possessed knight a massive headache as the two failed to reconcile their desires.

While he was distracted, Issei tried to attack again. Thrusting his sword straight for the heart, he missed when Kiba/Mordred proved to be lucid enough to deflect the blow. The follow up with the dagger was likewise evaded and Issei received a knee to the chest for his efforts.

"Peh, and you want to burn the world to ash? What about all the innocents then? You gonna burn em all too? And you call yourself a knight."

" **Silence!** **There are no innocents! Just ingrates who haven't betrayed me yet. I will be king!"** The Mordred persona temporarily overpowered Kiba's as he started a furious series of attacks on Issei to shut him up.

Issei grunted as he blocked an overhead blow with his own sword, the force of the impact driving him to his knees and as the blows continued to rain down, the ground cracked beneath him.

"Betray you? Oh that's rich, you're the one who betrayed everything you stood for. Tell me ghost, why did you become a knight again?"

" **What kind of question is that!? I became a knight to earn my father's respect, but the fool spat on my efforts and paid the price for it."**

Issei took advantage of an opening that appeared as a result of Mordred's agitation and rammed his shoulder into his stomach, bowling the knight over. All semblance of a sword fight disappeared as the duo rolled on the ground in a mess of limbs, kicking and punching at each other all the way.

"Quit lying to yourself you self-absorbed piece of shit."

" **You dare insult your kin-"** Issei managed to break free from the tangle and slammed his boot into Mordred's face. "I dare. There are other ways you could have earned your old man's respect, so why did you become a knight of all things."

" **I swore that I'd protect those unable to protect themselves. For too long, those in power have oppressed those without. I am the sword of the weak! You will not insult my resolve!"** Mordred roared as he resumed his attack.

"Ah good, so you do remember. Now tell me asshole, just how will burning everything to ash protect the 'weak'. The way I see it, they need protection from you!"

" **That is… I… I… G** uh! My **he** ad it hur **ts!"**

"You destroyed the kingdom your father fought for after you got suckered into believing those lies. Wanna know a secret? Your old man never knew you were his son until you ran him through."

" **That** is im **possible! Marquis** Cypher… he told me **, he told me my father** knew. **He showed me proof! I saw the** docu **ments!"**

'Cypher again? Holy shit, is there anything he's not involved in?' Issei absorbed that little tidbit without allowing his surprise to show. Maintaining a calm façade, he slowly approached the possessed knight who had fallen to his knees by this point.

"Oh he lied alright, and I'm ashamed you believed him. I only met King Arthur for a few minutes, and you know him better than I do. Tell me, is he the kind of person to commit the kind of actions you're accusing him of? He knew you came back and instead of asking me to put you down like a rabid dog, he asked me to save your soul… is that the kind of person who'd spit on his son's efforts?"

" **I… I… It was** all for **nothing then. I… I… ugh!"**

"Come on Kiba, I know you're listening. Get out here now, you are the knight of Rias Gremory are you not? You told me you wanted to stop Valper, well he's getting away. Are you just going to accept that? Is your resolve to avenge your comrades and prevent such a tragedy from happening again this weak? Are you going to just sit there and be consumed by your own hatred? Stand."

-line break

Kiba was adrift in an endless sea of misery and torment. Waves of hatred and pain broke over him, pulled him under and then tossed him back to the surface. The waters were in upheaval as emotions ran rampant.

Which of it was his and which belonged to the spirit sealed into his sacred gear he didn't know. All he knew was that he had no control over where he was going.

Issei's words drifted to his ears and woke something in him. His identity came back to him slowly and he started to struggle again. Grabbing hold of the one thing keeping him afloat, a small orb of light close to his heart, he fought to return.

Bit by bit, his strength came back and with it his resolve. Despite his predicament, he found himself at peace as he held the light close to himself.

"The hatred of my comrades for what was done to us, vengeance for them, I swore it all didn't I?" Kiba gave a self-deprecating smile as he started to impose order on his surroundings with his will.

"I've been a fool. My comrades… my family… they never wanted vengeance at all, just that I'd be alright. That I live my life my way for those who couldn't make it. Ise-san was right after all… and they've always been with me… from the very beginning."

He could feel them now, the presence of his former comrades. The orb Valper discarded, it was the impetus for his revival.

"It's not over yet. Valper still lives, as long as he does, the tragedy will repeat again. I will not allow it. we will not allow it."

Kiba relaxed his grip on the orb and allowed its light to shine through the gaps between his fingers. The illumination cutting through the darkness and washing away the hatred, replacing the cold with warmth.

-line break

The first sign that his words had gotten through to his friend was when Kiba's right eye reverted to its original grey. Issei cracked a small smile at that sight as he stored his dagger in his sacred gear before extending his hand. The grin widened when Kiba took it.

The knight blinked in surprise when Issei presented him with the rusty sword he'd been wielding for the battle. Kiba recognised it as the sword Issei had recovered from the forest of the familiars and he gave the pawn a questioning glance.

"Take it, you were always meant to wield this sword I think. I'm just the delivery boy."

" **Wh** y?"

"Because of who you are and what was done to you I guess. It's only fitting. Whether you are Kiba Yuuto or Mordred, this blade is tied to you. It will accept no one else as its master. Take it."

Trusting Issei's words despite not understanding the significance of it, Kiba shifted Clarent into his left hand and grasped the proffered blade with his right.

He gasped when the sword started emitting bright gold light as soon as his hand closed around its hilt. The holy aura pouring off the blade was unmistakable and it exceeded even that of Shinn's sword. Remarkably, it hurt neither of the devils in its presence and instead washed away their fatigue. Even the hatred and miasma being emitted by Clarent was purged.

When the light faded, a simple longsword remained. Runes were etched on both sides of the blade and the sword thrummed with power. "This is…"

"Excalibur. A gift from a grieving father to his son."

"…I really have been a fool. Father… I'm sorry." Mordred's voice left Kiba's mouth and it lacked any of the hatred that infected his earlier words. Unlike Clarent, Arthur's soul wasn't sealed in the sword but the knight could still feel the lingering emotions held in the blade and for the first time since his descent into darkness, he wept.

As Mordred's presence retreated, Kiba was left alone in his mind again and he returned his attention to Issei. "I… thank you."

"No time for that right now. There's only ten minutes left. Valper is with Kokabiel and they must be stopped. My familiar will guide you to them."

"And the chimera with the false Excalibur?"

"I have a score to settle with him. As for the sword…" Issei summoned his holy dagger back to hand. "Someone like that monster has no right even touching it, let alone wielding it. I'm going to fix the blade… who knows maybe it'll find me worthy"

Kiba nodded and gave his thanks one more time before flying off when he received instructions from Issei's eye in the sky, leaving the pawn on the ground.

Issei watched his friend for a few seconds more as he flew off before closing his eyes and feeling for the connection the stolen holy sword had to his dagger. He found it soon enough and his eyes snapped open as he prepared to warp to its location, using the connection as a marker for his teleportation.

"Just wait a bit longer, I'll restore you to your glory, Caliburn."

* * *

Author's notes: Arthurian mythos are cool. Giving Kiba Clarent just kinda fits in my twisted mind. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, leave a review if you think I can improve on something somewhere. Can't exactly spot any mistakes if no one points them out. This arc should wrap up in the next 2 chapters, just in time for university. The fic will probably go on a 1 month hiatus until things settle.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 21** : Overlimit

Shinn swung his holy sword at D-13 and sent his former comrade flying with the force behind the blow. "Get out of my way ya piece of shit."

"Not… until… you give me… back that… sword!" D-13 said as he struggled to stand. His vision had blurred to the point he was almost completely blind now and the ringing in his ears wouldn't stop. Numbness had seeped into his limbs and his bones felt brittle.

His lifespan could be measured in minutes now but he would carry out his orders. Summoning a fresh bone sword, he prepared to make a last stand against the traitor. The bone wielder could only curse his own lack of foresight for this, he should have left the chimera to rot and just retrieved the holy sword instead of letting them both go.

The coward had abandoned his duty and never met up with Valper, instead he sought to flee the town with the blade. Valper had thoroughly chewed out his servant for that mistake and now he'd been sent to retrieve the blade or die trying.

"Give you back the… hahahahhaha! You must be joking, you really think I'm gonna hand over this sweet piece of loot? Valper can go screw himself, this whole event has been a shit show and I am not giving up the one thing that makes this worthwhile."

"You gave… your word… to serve, you dar-" D-13's words were cut off by Shinn bringing his sword down on him, breaking his bone sword and severing his arm in the process. "Yeah about that, I lied."

Shinn's attempt to deliver the coup de grace was interrupted by a burst of sparks as Issei appeared and dropkicked him, sending him into a tree. Before the chimera could regain his senses, the devil was already on him.

Punching Shinn's face repeatedly with one hand, Issei grabbed onto Caliburn with the other and tried to wrest it from the chimera's grip. When the chimera continued to resist, he switched from knight to rook and his strength amplified considerably.

"Let. The. Sword. Go." Punctuating each word with a punch that cratered the ground, he finally managed to stun Shinn long enough for his grip to loosen. Once it did, Issei immediately retrieved the holy sword and grabbed the chimera's face with his free hand.

"Die."

Activating his one original magic spell, Issei stripped every last scrap of flesh from Shinn's bones and scattered it around the destroyed clearing he was in, painting everything crimson. Without Caliburn's holy aura protecting him, the chimera never stood a chance.

"G-give… me th-the sword…"

His attention was drawn to D-13 as his weak voice reached Issei's ears. "You still serve Valper even now? He used you, abandoned you, left you to rot and still you serve?"

D-13 gave a bitter smile at that point. "I owe… him…"

Issei considered putting the poor soul out of his misery for a moment. It was most certainly what Motohama and Matsuda would do, the former especially so given the blood running through D-13's veins.

But on the other hand, it'd be a waste of talent and Issei believed in second chances. He already had a habit of collecting strays, one more wouldn't hurt. Having made up his mind, Issei started to speak again.

"So you serve because he saved you. Understandable, but now he's abandoned you and you're about to die, I guess that means your debt is clear is it not?"

"I w-will serve… until o-one of us is… is dead."

"Excellent, then from now on your loyalty belongs to Rias Gremory."

Before D-13 could question Issei on his words, the pawn had lobbed a grenade at him. Instead of turning him into a scattered assortment of body parts, the grenade opened up and shot a beam of red light that enveloped him before sucking him into it. Once D-13 had been captured, the grenade stopped emitting light and closed up into a sphere and fell to the ground harmlessly.

Issei walked over and retrieved the orb before stashing it in his sacred gear. "Stasis grenades, thank you Matsuda… you know, when I kill someone, it's common courtesy to stay dead." Issei's face lost its mirth as he spun round with Caliburn in hand to deflect a strike aiming for the back of his head.

A fully restored and very pissed off Shinn leapt away from Issei, his clawed arm reverting to its original human appearance. "You already stole _my_ sword once fucker, you will not steal another. Now you can give it back or I will-"

"You talk too much." Issei flashed in front of the chimera and ran him through with the sword before swinging it and sending him flying. When Shinn landed, Issei warped to his side again and jammed the sword into his back while he was trying to rise, nailing him to the floor.

"The question is how many times do I have to kill you before you stay dead."

Activating his spell again, Issei splattered the chimera and spat in frustration when he noticed the scattered pieces starting to drift towards each other as though drawn by a magnet.

Rising to his feet, Issei waited with a displeased expression as Shinn reformed. The insane chimera started laughing as soon as he could when Issei failed to attack.

"Hahahahahhahaaha! Surprise fucker, weak spot's reinforced now. Without that shitty blade that fucking devil was using, you can't kill me. Not as long as those elements are still inside me ahahahahah!"

Issei's expression switched to one of bemusement as he reconfirmed the facts via his mental link with his familiar. As soon as he did, he let out a short bark of laughter before giving Shinn the slow clap.

"Wha!? What's so funny asshole?"

"You talk too much. Nice of you to remind me to retrieve those orbs for Kiba though. Since they were designed to resonate with Caliburn…"

Issei raised his sword and pointed it at Shinn while the chimera was still confused. Channelling his power through the sword, Issei felt for the connection to the elements and when he found them, he warped forward to impale the chimera again.

"Kuh! Again, this won't work on… on AHHHRRGGHHH!"

Initially confident of crushing Issei when the pawn couldn't kill him permanently with his attacks, he started screamed when pure agony ripped through him. Issei twisted the sword in the wound as he used the connection to forcibly extract the elements, causing massive damage in the process.

Once he was done, Caliburn glowed a pale blue and he ripped it out of the chimera's chest, letting Shinn fall to his knees.

"You can't do this to me. I haven't seen a war worthy of me yet. YOU CAN'T DO THIS."

"I already have." Issei grabbed the chimera by the throat and hoisted him up. "You are a blight upon this world and I will scourge you from it. Your ambition will never come to pass."

Both figures vanished in a burst of blue sparks and they reappeared miles above open sea. Issei jammed his hand into Shinn's stomach and used the last bits of metal he had available in him to form a football sized object inside it before kicking the chimera away.

"Goodbye and may I never see your face again." Issei waved to the enraged chimera now in freefall before vanishing in a burst of sparks.

"DAMN YOU!" As the words left his mouth the bomb Issei planted in him detonated. The Shiva unleashed a devastating burst of pure energy that completely vaporised the insane man. Not even ashes were left to mark his passing.

-line break

Raynare lay against a tree, breathing hard as the rapidly cooling corpse of her former teacher lay several feet away. It'd taken everything she had but she'd killed the bastard. Dohnaseek was resting nearby after coming to her assistance near the end.

The battle had dragged them far from Kuoh and both were covered in wounds and incapable of further action for the day. While they were resting, a white light shot by overhead and they just barely caught it.

"Him? Azazel sent him?" Her attention was drawn to Dohnaseek's incredulous tone. "What's wrong with that? Short of him or any of the other leaders coming themselves, he is one of the best choices."

"He's a battle maniac… and rude. Those two things tend to end with the boss shooting first, shooting second and asking questions never. And if he threatens the boss's sister…"

"Ah… it'll be okay… I think…"

-line break

Haruna had heard about it from the others but she still found it hard to believe what her eyes were telling her. Issei's two perverted buddies were holding Kokabiel off, even if the fight wasn't going in their favour.

Of the peerage, only Rias, Akeno and herself were present, the rest were off dealing with the stragglers and in the case of Asia healing the wounded. The devils were attacking Kokabiel with everything they had but the fallen was simply ignoring them and focusing his attention on Issei's buddies.

Valper was skulking in a corner protected by a barrier. The excommunicated archbishop was muttering to himself but otherwise inert and the devils were content to leave him be. He could be dealt with once Kokabiel was no longer breathing.

"What affinity for carnage, such a shame that you won't join me." Kokabiel said as he forced Motohama's scythe away with his wings and buried a light spear in his chest before kicking the hunter through a building.

The cadre class fallen evaded a railgun shot from Matsuda and tossed a bus sized light spear at the rubble where Motohama was still pulling himself out off. The hunter never had a prayer as the spear hit and vaporised everything around him, instantly sending him back to the dream.

"Motohama! Shit. Damn you." Matsuda hurled a bolt of lightning at the fallen and when Kokabiel was busy deflecting it with his spear, punched the ground. Pillars of fire erupted around the fallen and burned him badly, but unfortunately wasn't enough to stop him.

"Annoying insect, good effort but ultimately futile." Kokabiel gave a maniacal smile before rushing Matsuda and engaging him in a melee, light spear against crystal blade. Despite his best efforts, he was forced back one step at a time.

Kokabiel had centuries, possibly millennia of combat experience under his belt and however good the major was, it just wasn't going to cut it. Matsuda was rapidly running out of options, most of his arsenal had already been depleted since he hadn't had time to resupply and the few weapons he had left were too destructive to be used in Kuoh.

As a light spear came within a hair's breadth of his face, Matsuda grit his teeth in frustration as he parried with his dagger. Trying to catch the fallen off guard by deactivating and reactivating the extended blade without warning, he managed to score a line down Kokabiel's cheek and hack off a small portion of his right ear.

Instead of recoiling, Kokabiel's grin merely widened as he pressed the assault, the wound only increasing his desire to fight.

"Shit!" Matsuda cursed when he felt a sudden boost in power from Haruna, while he'd normally welcome a boost, it came at the worst possible timing. Stuck in the middle of a thrust, the boost resulted in him miscalculating the power he had and unlike Issei, he had no idea on how to compensate for such a drastic increase.

"Wide open brat!" Kokabiel did not miss the opening Matsuda's overextension gave him and slashed upwards at Matsuda's outstretched arm. The light spear easily cut through the limb and Kokabiel finished by jamming the spear into his skull.

Matsuda's body went limp before collapsing into a pile of ashes and reforming a few metres away. The major fell to his knees breathing heavily, the constant respawning had taken their toll on him and he was running on fumes.

"What's the matter boy? Too weak to even stand now? I expected more." Kokabiel mocked the kneeling soldier as he deflected the attacks from the devils with a light spear with barely any effort.

"Screw you, you bloody elf knock off." Matsuda shot back as he tried to rise to his feet, black spots clouding his vision as he did so. "I'm not done yet."

"Then stand. I'll just knock you down again."

"Leave him alone you monster." Haruna called out as she landed in front of Matsuda, placing herself between the two. "Just stay back Matsuda-san, we'll handle this."

"Do take care yeah? Issei will kill me if his sister bites it." Matsuda managed to say with a tired grin on his face.

"Oh come now boy, do you really have the time to worry about others?" Kokabiel continued his mocking as he continued to no-sell the devil's attacks. "Still, I will admit that all this has been a nice surprise. To think the greatest resistance to me was from unaffiliated unknowns instead of the devils or exorcists like I initially expected. And you even managed to hide the real Kuoh in a pocket dimension so I can't hold it hostage… superb, it's been so long since I had any challenge."

"Why. Why are you doing all of this?"

"Because I'm bored." Kokabiel answered in a nonchalant tone to Haruna's surprise.

"Y-you did all this just because you're bored!? You expect me to believe that!?"

"Do I need any other reason?" The fallen shrugged his shoulders at Haruna's rebuke, the sinister smile never once leaving his face. "I was born and bred for war little girl, this _peace_ is an insult to my very existence. Of course, I also wish to see the fallen angels stand at the top of the world but let's be serious here, I'm in this for my own entertainment. If Azazel won't restart the war and that idiot Jibril bungled his attempt… well you know what they say, if you want something done right…"

He vanished from his position in a burst of speed and nearly managed to impale Haruna with his light spear, only sheer luck allowed the Sekiryuutei to take a step back in time and deflect the weapon with her gauntlet.

"Do it yourself." Kokabiel's grin widened as he backhanded the girl with his free hand and sent her flying before bursting out into laughter.

"Haruna! Damn you, get away from my pawn!" Rias fired the largest ball of demonic energy she could create and sent it rocketing towards Kokabiel. The fallen swung his spear and cleaved the ball in half, allowing the attack to explode harmlessly behind him.

"The maou's younger sister, I expected so much more, but I guess anyone would be a disappointment when stacked up against the bastard Sirzechs. Say… how angry do you think he'll be once I raze this backwater town to the ground and send your body back to him one piece at a time?"

The fallen started tossing his spears at the Gremory heiress in a lazy manner while sidestepping the incoming demonic energy blasts and lightning bolts as well as the occasional fireball from Matsuda.

"Still, you have managed to amass a fine collection of trash, but then garbage attracts flies does it not?"

"What!?"

"Let's see here, the discarded holy maiden, a failed member of the holy sword project, Baraqiel's worthless daughter and of course the accursed Sekiryuutei. What a magnificent pile of crap."

Akeno stiffened after the mention of her father and Rias' rage skyrocketed at having her precious peerage mocked and derided so. But the one who spoke up first was Haruna, who'd risen to her feet after recovering from the blow.

"I won't allow you to mock my friends Kokabiel." She spoke with steel in her voice as a new surge of power ran through her courtesy of her sacred gear. "I will defeat you."

"Ah an optimist! How humanlike, that's the one thing I find admirable in humanity, their boundless _optimism._ You know what that means? It's about sizing up a situation that's bloody impossible and saying yeah! I'll give it a shot. Few beings hurry to their deaths so spectacularly." Kokabiel's malicious laughter filled the area as raised his power output.

"And do tell, how do you intend to stop me? I can see your hands shaking from where I stand… what? This your first battle? First kill maybe? Hahahhahah! You reek of fear, run along now, I'll give you a head start before I hunt you down. At least you'll survive a little longer."

'Shaking?' Haruna looked down at her hands and true to Kokabiel's words, they were shaking, however, she couldn't feel any fear at all. Power coursed through her being and a sense of purpose filled her. The fear and regret that had been plaguing her earlier were washed away by her resolve as a fire burned within. The only thing that mattered was defeating Kokabiel, everything else came a distant second. 'This isn't fear, this is…'

"Excitement."

 **[Let's do this partner.]**

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]

The jewel on her gauntlet started glowing a bright green and a massive amount of crimson aura exploded from her being. Her surroundings were incinerated and a crater formed around her as the aura began to coalesce into a suit of armour.

"So this is my balance breaker, [Boosted Gear Scale Mail]. Do you see this Kokabiel? This form has been achieved with my desire to never allow you to hurt my friends. My sacred gear has given me the power to stop you."

"Oh! Very nice!" Kokabiel laughed and gave a round of applause at the new development. "I guess this won't be so boring after all. Say, do me a favour and try not to die so quickly."

"You're going down Kokabiel." Having already promoted to queen earlier, all her specs had been magnified to incredible levels by her balance breaker. Coating her fists with crimson aura, she charged the cadre class fallen and evaded his attacks with her speed before using the strength of a rook to bury her fist into his stomach.

"Guh! Not bad, that's more like it!" Kokabiel raised his hands and summoned an array of light spears in the air and sent them shooting towards her. Haruna switched to her bishop trait and released a burst of demonic energy in all directions, seeking to destroy the spears before they reached.

She didn't quite succeed in that endeavour but her hasty defence managed to delay the spears long enough for her to dodge. Once she'd evaded all of them, the Sekiryuutei used gift on her comrades and filled them with enough power to hurt the fallen as Kokabiel found out via a superpowered lightning strike to the face.

"Tch, annoying insects." The rogue fallen took to the sky again and fired off a barrage of light arrows towards Rias and Akeno who dodged them without much effort much to his consternation.

"Ara? This is easy, and Ise's training pays off again. Fufufu… I should give him a reward after this." Akeno said as she called down a massive bolt of lightning with her boosted powers, electrocuting Kokabiel and actually forcing him back.

Rias caught him with her own attack, a super condensed ball made entirely out of her power of destruction. The orb struck him in the back and bored a hole through his sternum.

The fallen hacked up a large amount of blood as he tossed a building sized light spear at Rias in retaliation, detonating the projectile early to catch the Gremory in the blast and sending her falling back to earth.

Timely intervention from Akeno prevented her for carving out a person shaped hole in the ground and Rias was left shaken from the attack. Her earlier power boost had been used up in order to protect herself from the blast and she was left feeling weak from the sudden loss of power.

Kokabiel stemmed the blood loss by cauterising the wound with his power and created another light spear to smite the two devils. He stopped when he noticed them grinning. 'Wait… where's the Sekiryuutei?'

He received his answer when a volley of missiles streaked towards him. His attempt to strike the closest down with his spear detonated the explosive in a massive ball of fire. The blast in turn detonated every other missile around him and the fallen was engulfed in a never-ending series of explosions, each more powerful than the last as Haruna continued pouring her power into them with her ability.

Haruna smirked behind her visor as she watched the fallen go up in flames, Laserbeak had kindly provided the missiles and all she had to do was use gift on them. The results spoke for themselves.

 **[Partner, you can only hold balance breaker for a few more minutes, your body isn't able to take the strain any further… and I don't think he's dead yet.]**

"You're joking… you're not joking." Haruna stared in disbelief as the smoke cleared, revealing a dishevelled Kokabiel floating there with his wings wrapped around him. Most of his clothes had been burned away and the skin below them charred black, his wings were ragged and countless holes had been punched into them. The entire right side of his face was a bloody mess and yet the fallen continued to breathe.

"Ah… hahaha… hahhahaha… HAHAAHAHAHAH! It's been so long since I took this much damage. Hahahahahahah! Good show! Jolly good show! Now… my turn." Kokabiel spread his damaged wings and sped towards Haruna with incredible speed.

Not to be outdone, she used her own speed to keep up with the fallen and they traded blows repeatedly. Kokabiel was like a flying brick and refused to go down no matter how many times she landed an attack and his hits hurt.

Every blow she took destroyed a portion of her armour without fail and some of her damage was transmitted to her flesh and blood body beneath it. Repairing the armour cost valuable power and stamina and her own wounds were further weakening her.

Blood coated the insides of her visor as she took yet another powerful punch to the stomach. Taking advantage of their close proximity, Haruna fired off a dragon shot at Kokabiel's face at point blank range.

As her armour disintegrated, the cadre class fallen was sent crashing to the ground far below. The Sekiryuutei landed on the ground and fell to her knees coughing. 'Ddraig, what happened to the armour?'

 **[Your body can't take anymore, it's not used to the strain yet, if we push it any further I will have to start converting parts of you into a dragon.]**

'Then do it. Kokabiel must be stopped, no matter the cost.'

 **[You've done enough partner, leave it to the rest.]**

'What are-' Her question was answered when Kiba and Xenovia rushed past her, making a beeline straight for the downed fallen swords drawn.

-line break.

Kokabiel roared as he clawed his way out of the rubble, blasting everything around him to ashes with a shockwave of light. His form was even more mangled now and it was a wonder the man was still fighting.

"To think I'd be pushed this far fighting a bunch of rookies, hahahaha… I've lost my touch." Summoning two light swords in his hands, he held off the knight and exorcist with them.

Sparks flared as his projections met Clarent, Durandal and Excalibur and were promptly destroyed. Unfazed, he continued summoning more to hand and fighting with them, millennia worth of experience allowing him to hold off the duo despite his injuries.

As a former angel, the holy aura from the blades didn't affect him much but the Durandal's ability and the demonic aura from Clarent was starting to exacerbate his wounds.

"It's over Kokabiel, in the name of the lord I will vanquish you." Xenovia swung her sword with all her might and unleashed a wave of destruction. Kokabiel shielded himself with his wing and in his weakened state wasn't able to completely block it.

"GRRAAAGGGHH!" He screamed in pain as three of his wings were shredded by the aura before violently retaliating. Allowing his light sword to dissipate, he grabbed hold of Durandal's blade with his bare hands, ignoring the pain from it and headbutted Xenovia, knocking her down and stunning her.

"Very nice try, but you are nowhere near that bastard Strada's level just yet." The fallen's attempt at a coup de grace was interrupted by Kiba bringing his swords up into a cross and holding off Durandal before it could be stabbed into Xenovia.

Moving the swords in a scissor fashion, Kiba forced Kokabiel to release Durandal or have his arm severed. "Not happening Kokabiel. Not while I stand."

Kiba slashed away at the fallen repeated, each slash launching a wave of energy that continued to wound the fallen even if they weren't able to knock him out with one hit.

"Kuh! Excalibur and Clarent eh? Both of those swords are supposed to be lost, how do you have them? hehehaehahaha, aren't you a little old for fairy tales boy? Do you really think mimicking King Arthur will do you any good?"

" **I am not my father, though I appreciate the comparison.** And seeing how you're retreating, I'd say it's working." Kiba spun in a circle to destroy the light spears Kokabiel tried raining down on him before the fallen appeared right in front of him with his speed.

"Open~" The rogue said in a singsong tone as he stabbed towards an opening created by the knight's manoeuvre. His eyes widened when Kiba's leg came up and a sword spawned into existence at the end of it, despite pulling back in time, the holy demonic sword still cut a line across his mangled face.

"Hoh? You can create your own holy demonic swords?"

"Were you expecting anything else?"

Kokabiel's response was cut off as a chunk of stone the size of an elephant smashed into him followed by a wave of destruction from Durandal.

"Sempai. You're okay."

"I am now. I'm sorry for worrying you Koneko."

Koneko's face remained impassive but from the small twitches of her body, anyone could tell that she was overjoyed that Kiba had returned to normal. Asia and Irina followed behind her, having already dealt with most of the stragglers still in the replica town.

With the exception of Issei, the ORC had regrouped and they steeled themselves for battle again when Kokabiel still refused to keel over. The battered fallen pulled himself from the rubble again and rose to his feet unsteadily. Clearly on his last legs, a death grin spread across what remained of his face as he refused to go quietly.

It was at this point Valper snapped out of whatever delirium he was in earlier. "This is impossible. A holy demonic sword? A devil capable of wielding a holy sword without any treatment? This is impossible! Polar opposites cannot mix! Ah. I see. Then that means…"

Valper reached a conclusion and Kokabiel gave an unamused huff before tossing a light spear his way.

"Eh?" The former archbishop muttered in surprise when Issei appeared in front of him in a burst of sparks, cutting the light spear down with one swing of Caliburn.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. He doesn't get to die so easily I'm afraid, not after what he's done." Issei raised his sword at Kokabiel and readied himself.

"You… a devil wielding my Excalibur… ahhahahahahha! I was right. In the great war, not only the original maou perished but so did the god of the bible ahahahahahahaah!"

"""""What!?"""""

"Ah and so the greatest secret of the three factions is finally out." Kokabiel burst out into a spiel of self-deprecating laughter. "That's right, at the height of the great war, the leaders of both the devils and heaven perished in battle. And all three factions colluded to hide away the truth like cowards to prevent their weakness from being leaked to other supernatural factions."

"LIE! THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S TRUE!" Irina screamed at Kokabiel in denial of his words. If he spoke true, then everything she'd been raised to believe was nothing more than a falsehood.

"Oh but it is exorcist, that sword in the knight's hands in all the proof you need. That accursed blade was sealed away a long time ago. That seal can only be broken after the death of the sealer. How does it feel child, to be used and lied to your whole life? Heaven has no god, Michael has set himself up as king instead. Hahahahaha… I swear on the river Styx that everything I said is the truth."

"No…" When Kokabiel remained standing despite his oath, the truth of his words could no longer be denied and Irina slid to the ground in despair. Issei narrowed his eyes when he noticed his childhood friend sinking into depression.

"What? Am I supposed to believe your lies?"

"No Issei." To his surprise it was Rias who answered him. "He swore an oath on the river Styx that he spoke the truth. Such an oath is binding even for supernatural beings, if he lied, he'd die… he was telling the truth."

"…I see and I don't give a flying fuck."

Issei's proclamation drew the attention of everyone in the area, even Irina. "Oh? You intend to continue fighting despite knowing the truth?"

"Nothing has changed Kokabiel. Whether the god of the bible is dead or not matters not to me. This town is _my_ home and these are _my_ friends and family you are threatening. You expect me to just let that slide? Not a chance in hell."

"Yes… cut down the fallen devil, I wish to see the fruits of my labour, show me the true strength of the Excalibur I reforged."

Issei sighed and lowered his blade slightly before spinning round and smashing the hilt of the sword into Valper's skull, opening a large gash on his forehead and dropping the old man. "First of you piece of shit, do not presume to give me orders. Secondly, this ain't Excalibur and you did a piss poor job of putting them back together again. Caliburn is mine now."

Issei summoned his holy dagger from his sacred gear and held it in his off hand. Both weapons began to glow as he channelled his power into them, before he clapped both together. The dagger became translucent before melting into the sword and with a brilliant flash, the holy sword was restored to its former glory.

Power flooded the area as the three swords from Arthurian legend resonated and strength returned to the devils and exorcists.

While Irina was still in no condition to fight, Xenovia raised her Durandal with determination. "The truth of your words can be ascertained at a later date Kokabiel. For now, you must be defeated."

Kokabiel took a long look around him and found himself surrounded by enemies very much desiring his head and laughed long and hard, filled with madness and a strange trace of sadness.

"Surrender Kokabiel and we'll hand you over to the maou instead of killing you here." Rias gave the rogue fallen one last chance to give in as she raised her arms, red energy crackling around them.

"Surrender… so your maou can have me executed as a public spectacle?" He poured everything he had left into summoning a single longsword made out of pure white light. "I think not. I will die here either way, let's see how many of you will be coming with me shall we?"

"Die alone asshole, you aren't killing anyone else ever again. Promotion… King." Issei didn't know why he said that considering the king wasn't a piece he could promote to as a pawn but it paid off. Caliburn's glow intensified and he felt the promotion go through and his power skyrocket to a level he never believed existed.

It took him several seconds before he understood, the sword in hand had given him its blessing and allowed a promotion that should not exist. The voices that had been clamouring for him to fix them in his head had gone silent and all that was left was a sense of approval from the sword itself.

"Alright, let's do this."

-line break

Kokabiel grunted as yet another one of his wings was destroyed by the never-ending series of attacks. Demonic energy blasts, waves of holy aura and countless rocks and trees continually assaulted his battered form.

"Yes! YES! That's more like it! Give me everything you've got!" The fallen continued laughing as his time on the mortal coil drew to a close.

As the blood started to seep into his lungs, his laughter became wheezing and his vision began to blur. After taking another hit from Clarent and having the blade eat away at his existence, he could no longer feel most of his extremities.

'So this is where I die then… heh, not bad for a traitor. Just a bit more…'

His pained grin widened when his surroundings started to fade and be replaced by an undamaged version of it as the real town came back.

Kokabiel grit his teeth as Akeno lit him up with another supercharged lightning bolt courtesy of Haruna's buffing. Ignoring the pain, he blocked a slash from Excalibur with his forearm and headbutted Kiba, knocking him down.

Deflecting a strike from Durandal with a light sword, he allowed the weapon to destabilise and explode like a flashbang, stunning Xenovia and Koneko and allowing him to knock them both down.

The rogue fallen fell to his knees and coughed up a large amount of blood as Caliburn burst out his back when Issei warped in front of him and buried the weapon in his chest up to the hilt.

Grabbing onto the blade, he pulled himself off of it and staggered backwards, dodging Issei's attacks with pure luck alone. When he had regained his senses somewhat, he counterattacked with a rain of light arrows that forced the pawn to fall back off or be skewered.

"Ah… it's back. I win."

The real town had finished being phased back into reality as the remaining keystones could no longer hold it in place. The comatose forms of the civilians could be seen lying on the ground where the sleeping spell had struck them upon transport.

"Shit." Kokabiel gave a bloody smirk as Issei's one word summed up the current state of being.

"Burn unto nothing." Pouring whatever was left of his lifeforce into a single attack, Kokabiel formed a single pillar of light the size of a skyscraper in the sky.

"No! if that thing hits, all of Kuoh will be destroyed!" Rias' exclamation spurred the rest back into action as they fired off every attack they could at Kokabiel, seeking to destroy him before he could finish his final move.

Most of the attacks were burned away by the tremendous amount of energy he was putting out and the few that struck him failed to fell him.

"Damnit all. Matsuda, NOW!"

"It's still untested! Ah fuck it all!"

As the pillar of light began to descend, Issei and Matsuda sprinted towards Kokabiel, moving into a pincer and catching the fallen in between.

"You're too late boy! Victory is mine!" Kokabiel brought his hand down and the pillar began to fall with increasing speed just as the duo reached him.

The major wrapped his arms around the fallen in a bear hug and held him in place as Issei jammed his sword through the both of them.

As the blade sprouted from Matsuda's back, Issei activated his teleport at the same time Matsuda's reality warping abilities kicked in with Kokabiel trapped in the middle of them. In a flash of light, all three disappeared and bereft of its master, the superweapon hanging overhead began to lose power.

The devils started firing their own attacks to halt the massive pillar and the Sona's peerage added their own power from wherever they were in the town.

Despite their best efforts, most of them were too weak after the morning's battles and their best just wasn't good enough. The pillar slowed and continued to lose power but didn't stop its inexorable descent.

As it was, the blast when it hit would still wipe out a good one third of the town and that was unacceptable.

[Divide!]

That word rang out and reached the ears of the defenders as the pillar abruptly shrunk by half. Before anyone could question it, it came again.

[Divide!]

The pillar shrunk yet again and it was longer able to keep up with the devil's attacks and its own power drain and dissipated into tiny motes of light.

The devils stared in confusion before noticing a single figure in the sky. Clad in pure white armour with glowing wings of energy coming out of his back, the figure turned to regard the Gremory group and a chill ran down Haruna's spine.

"Where is Kokabiel?"

-line break

The fallen angel in question rolled on the ground as pain assailed him. Pushing himself up, he witnessed a bloody Issei trying to pull himself up as both of his legs were missing. Matsuda was lying face first on the ground unresponsive.

Taking a look around, he found himself back in the destroyed Kuoh replica, only the blank white sky overhead proved that he wasn't back in the real world.

"What, did, you, do." He spat out as Issei crawled into a sitting position.

"I'm not letting you destroy Kuoh asshole. Welcome to my personal pocket dimension, and to your end."

"GGRRAGGGHHH!" Kokabiel roared after being denied his victory at the last second. He summoned a light sword and did his best to rush towards Issei and avoid keeling over.

Issei spread his devil wings and used them to force himself to the side clumsily in lieu of his missing legs. As Kokabiel stumbled past, Issei swung Caliburn in desperation, nicking the fallen angel in the side.

He didn't escape from the trade unscathed though as Kokabiel scored his own hit, gouging out a large amount of muscle from his shoulder and rendering his left arm useless.

Neither combatant intended to give ground as they continued to trade blows in their critically wounded state. Their moves getting sloppier and sloppier as the slug fest wore on.

Issei was the first to be unable to continue battling as his king promotion faded away and the strain caught up with him. Paralysed by the pain and loss of strength, he was powerless to do anything but kneel there and watch Kokabiel ready one last charge.

"It's over." Kokabiel summoned one last light spear, as testament to the damage he'd already taken, the spear was weaker than even that of Dohnaseek and Raynare's before they began training. Weakly flickering as the fallen held it aloft, it looked like it'd dissipate at any second.

Kokabiel half walked half staggered towards the devil and thrust the spear straight for Issei's heart.

Milliseconds before the strike could land, the weapon burst into tiny specs of light and Kokabiel collapsed on the ground.

"Ah… damn… I wanted to fight some more… but I guess it just wasn't meant to be." The cadre class fallen flopped over onto his back and stared up at the blank sky with sightless eyes as a serene expression came over his face.

"Oh well… not a bad way to go at all."

Issei stared dumbly at his fallen foe, never in a million years would he expect someone Kokabiel to just fall over like that or be at peace with his defeat. "Hey, asshole. Before you die, I want to know, what was the point of all this?"

"Ha. We all die someday, not everyone gets to choose how. With my death, the status quo will be broken, this stagnation will end. This way the factions will act more like the humans they claim to need."

As he started coughing, Issei stared blankly at the fallen, unable to make sense of his words. "What?"

"Haah… I always envied humanity you know, as an immortal it's hard not to. Their lives are so short, so insignificant in the grand scheme of things… but then each individual lives their own lives to the fullest and when they go, they go out like a firework. Angels, fallen angels, devils… it doesn't matter, their own longevity has made them lose sight of what it means to live and I detest the stagnation of all the races. A slow decay would have made the great war and all the sacrifices in them worthless, and I will not accept that."

"And you'd restart the war just for that? And how many more senseless sacrifices would there be!? You ever consider trying to sue for peace!?"

"Peace… is a lie… you will come to understand one day." Kokabiel closed his eyes and for a moment Issei thought he had passed.

"One last thing boy, the choir knew how to bypass your early warning systems… best take a closer look at your friends. Heh, you and the rest fought well, my time is up. May the new age be yours as the old one was mine…"

Kokabiel's chest fell and didn't rise again as he expired, leaving Issei the only one still conscious in the replica of Kuoh.

"…Damnit all."

-line break

Matsuda supported Issei as he hobbled towards one of the still working exits. The major had awoken shortly after Kokabiel's passing courtesy of a boot to the ribs. Issei had replaced his missing legs by assimilating several destroyed anti-aircraft batteries and wasted no time in testing his new limbs out on his snoring buddy.

"What happened to sleeping when you're dead man? I haven't slept in two days, cut me some slack would you?"

"You're undead, that saying doesn't apply to you. Now come on, we need to get back to Kuoh."

As the two stepped onto the magic circle and transported back to the real world, Issei caught sight of a young girl in gothic Lolita dress. And if he didn't know better, he'd say she was staring at him.

He lacked the time to ponder it further however as the transport finished and he found himself back in the ORC clubroom, surrounded by the other devils and a newcomer in white armour who immediately asked for Kokabiel's whereabouts.

"He's dead."

"…You killed him?"

"He died of his wounds."

"Unacceptable. Azazel's orders are clear, I am to retrieve him while he's still breathing. Now, where is he? Answer or I will destroy you."

Issei blinked once at the threat before laughing. "Oh am I supposed to be afraid? Come on then, if you want to die so badly, I can always bring you to the body and blow you to hell there."

The armoured figure launched a fist towards Issei's face with blinding speed, he stopped just short of it when a crystal blade manifested at his gut.

"Much as I'd love to see Issei get the crap kicked out of him, I can't let you do that. Now back down or die." Matsuda intervened for the weakened Issei, the last thing he wanted was for Issei to use his reality warping ability as a short cut into his pocket dimension… that shit hurt… a lot.

Rias spoke up to try to defuse the tension. "Now hold on, we're all allies here. Issei, this is Vali, he's an agent of Azazel. He's um… here to retrieve Kokabiel before he causes the war to reignite again."

"I see… well there's a bit of a problem with that. The dimension I left his body in is kind of locked off right now since every entrance was destroyed, I can reopen it but it will take a few days at least. The only way in right now is 50/50."

"50/50?" Vali asked in confusion, he didn't really know who Issei after skipping out on Azazel's briefing but the name was unfamiliar to him. He'd give the boy props for standing up to the white dragon emperor without flinching though.

"50% chance you enter, 50% chance you transition to nothingness."

"Meaning?"

"Eh, the teleport finishes, part of you will end up there, part of you will end up in this room and some of you will end up on the other side of the galaxy. Needless to say, you'll be too dead to do anything. As for going through… well you could still end up missing a few body parts… like your legs for instance."

"…Very well, I will report this to Azazel. Staying any longer is pointless then." Vali turned on his heel to leave, something told him that Issei wasn't lying and he had no intention of killing himself before he became the strongest in the world.

As he opened the window and prepared to fly off, he turned to Haruna and left a few parting words. "Get stronger my rival. We'll have our match soon." His actions were stopped by an unholy amount of killing intent coming from Issei.

"Yeah, see here _buddy_ , you want to get to my sister, you're going to have to go through me.

"Hmmph, we'll see about that when the time comes." Not waiting around any longer, his energy wings flared and he took off into the morning sky, rapidly becoming a spec on the horizon.

Issei continued to glare at the direction Vali had flown off in before heaving a sigh and turning to the others. "So… what's our status?"

"Ah. The town is undamaged and all of us are accounted for. Motohama… um… Gael says that he'll be back eventually. Uh… oh yes, the exorcists are with the bloodhounds at the moment, they need to report in evidently, communication with the underworld has been restored if a little spotty. And all of us made it." Rias listed off the details and Issei's face visibly lightened at the good news.

"Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me… goodnight." As the word left his lips, Issei's body sagged and only Matsuda's support kept it from hitting the ground.

The major waved off the worried exclamations with a weary smile of his own. "He'll be fine, just exhausted. It's been a long morning, I'll get him back to his house… and I'll answer whatever question I can after that."

-line break

Location unknown.

"Master, Kokabiel and Laurence have both been defeated… as you predicted."

Soft laughter came from the shadows as the figure residing in it turned to his loyal soldier. "Of course they were, they served their purpose though and I have no further use of them… did you obtain what I asked for?"

One silver eye peered into the shadows as the soldier reached into his pack to retrieve a near empty vial. "Yes master, I have obtained a sample of refined Paleblood. There isn't much left and I-"

"It is enough. You have done well." with a small wave, the vial floated over to the shrouded figure who plucked it from the sky and peered into it, eyes drawn to the few droplets of silver liquid inside it. "With this, my plans can finally make progress."

"…Master. The silver wing continues to grow stronger. Should we really let him continue to do so?"

"You worry that he'll destabilise my work. That worry is unfounded. On the contrary, I actually need him stronger or the last few centuries of work will have been for nothing."

"I… don't understand?"

"He has a very important role to play in things to come… as to what comes after that… we'll just have to wait and see."

"I… if you say so master."

The shrouded figure closed his fist around the vial before slipping it into his robes. "Again, you have done well. Now, return to your post and continue to update me on our dear friend's actions."

"As you command." The air rippled momentarily and the soldier was gone, leaving his master alone in the darkness.

"At last, things are falling into place. We'll meet again soon old friend, until then keep growing stronger Issei… just a matter of time now before I can step out of the shadows." Cypher tossed his head back and laughed before the shadows rose around him. when they fell away, he was gone and the room began to crumble into rubble.

* * *

Author's notes: Late update here, no excuses other than Kokabiel's death scene just not flowing. Rewriting the same bit four times sucks. Hope you all enjoyed it... and yes, Issei did just catch D-13 in a poke ball so there!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD nor do I own anything from any other franchise that might pop up.

 **Chapter 22** : The Price of Victory

Three days had passed since the attack on Kuoh was repelled, surviving Choir members and fallen angels had been taken into custody and clean-up had proceeded remarkably swiftly. While Issei was still sore from the beating he'd taken, he was back on his feet and had chipped in wherever he could.

Today however, he'd taken a break from sorting out the mess and stood on a cliff overlooking a beach where the bloodhounds had gathered. A massive funeral pyre had been set up and storm clouds gathered overhead, reflecting the mood of all present.

"Shouldn't you be down there with your men?" Issei asked the morose Gael standing next to him.

"…There'll be time for that latter. Now… now I don't have the guts to face them. I don't have the right to do so. Say boss, I ever tell you about how I joined them?"

Issei had heard it before but out of respect, he shook his head and allowed Gael to speak his piece. "Heh, I remember it like it was yesterday… just another blasted orphan lost in a country too busy tearing itself to pieces to care about its people. Should've died then ya know."

Gael looked up to the overcast sky that had yet to release the first drop, screwing his eyes shut and putting on a bitter smile, he continued in a faux cheerful tone.

"But out of everyone else, fate smiled upon me. The 17th found me right when I needed a miracle the most, took me in, nursed me back to health. You have any idea how irrational that decision was? A mercenary company taking in a random orphan, just one of thousands… but take me in they did. I'd have been content to be another soldier, but no, the captain had other ideas, gave me and education instead. Said, my hands were those of a scholar, not a murderer."

Gael chuckled, a sound devoid of mirth and full of his own brokenness. "Got through law school and thought I could finally make a damned difference. Then the choir happened and we became these… freaks." Looking at a half-transformed paw, Gael chuckled again.

"So many of us didn't make it out of that hellhole. Put me in charge next, the captain's adopted son, it's what he would have wanted according to the rest… and now… I have to bid a final farewell to those who died following my orders. So much for taking care of them eh?"

"…I won't say not to blame yourself since we both know that's impossible, but right now you gotta be strong, if not for yourself then for those who remain, those who believed in you enough to follow you to the end of the line."

"Figured you might say that. I'm just real tired of losing family. Heh, rain's pretty fucking heavy isn't it, it's getting in my eyes now."

"Yeah… heavy rain indeed." Issei and Gael lapsed into silence as the funeral procession continued below, the pyre already a roaring inferno. Minutes later, the first drops of water began to fall.

-line break

A jolt brought D-13 back to the waking world, a quick survey of his surroundings informed him that he was in an interrogation chamber of sorts. Before him stood the Gremory heiress and the silver wing, neither of whom looked pleased to see him.

'Ah, that's right… I was captured, wasn't I?'

Issei spoke up first. "Before you ask, Valper was executed for his crimes two days ago."

"…So you've come to gloat at my failure then?"

"Au contraire, we're here to make you an offer you cannot refuse."

"More than a few are clamouring for you to be executed alongside your former master, but, since your actions occurred in my territory and it was my pawn who captured you, the terms of your… punishment… are ultimately up to me."

"…"

"Both my knight and pawn have vouched for your undying loyalty however misguided it was, and your skill is already evident. So I'll make you this offer…" Rias pulled out a glowing red knight piece and presented it to the bone wielder.

"Join my peerage… or don't. The only thing keeping you alive at the moment would be the stasis field you're in, without it you have seconds at most before your body breaks down completely. Joining will either remove the disease or sustain you until a cure can be found."

D-13 remained silent as he mulled it over. "What kind of trick are you playing here? I'm your enemy, I tried to kill you all, why would you make such an offer."

Issei shrugged his shoulders before answering. "No tricks. There's just no point in wasting good talent. You said you were loyal to Valper till either of you died, since Valper's gone, any loyalty you owed him died with him. Sure we could leave you to die but that doesn't benefit us in the least, and having a background almost identical to Kiba's helps."

Issei could see the gears turning inside D-13's head and pushed forwards. "You owed him your life since he saved it, now we're offering to save your life in exchange for your loyalty. Unlike some of the others, I don't believe you're inherently evil and so we offer you a second chance."

"…And how do I know you're not setting me up? For all I know, joining your peerage just allows you to mind control me and use me as cannon fodder, it is what you devils do isn't it?"

Rias flushed red at the insult but her outburst was interrupted but Issei's laughter.

"You are hardly in any position to question the offer since your only other alternative is death. But to address your concerns, joining a peerage does not strip one of their free will. If it did stray devils wouldn't exist. And besides, if we could mind control you so easily, why would we even make this offer? We'd just execute you and revive your corpse."

"That's… fair."

"Ahem." Rias coughed lightly to draw attention back to herself. "In any case, this is your one chance to craft a future for yourself that doesn't involve an early grave. I won't lie, having you as a knight would be a major boost to my peerage and you will have to step onto the battlefield again. But, I have no intention of discarding any one of my peerage members regardless of their faults, I'm not Valper after all. And so I ask you again, will you join my peerage as a knight?"

D-13 stared at the glowing piece for a few moments more before bowing his head.

"I accept."

"Excellent." Rias held the piece out to the immobilised warrior and fed a trickle of her own power into the piece, allowing it to rise and float towards D-13's chest before sinking in. A gasp was D-13's only response as a new power flooded his system and he felt better than he had in years, the pain of his disease fading like a bad dream.

"Fufufu, I have a new knight now… still, D-13 was it? That's hardly a proper name and it is essentially 'die'. Since you lack a name, I'll give you one. From this day forth, you shall be known as Kimimaro."

-line break

"You got excommunicated… seriously?" Issei found it hard to believe what he was hearing when Irina and Xenovia had shown up at his warehouse. He'd been expecting quite a number of scenarios when he received a call from his childhood friend who was clearly in distress but this was most definitely not one of them.

"I assure you we aren't joking." Xenovia fired back while narrowing her eyes at the pawn. "When we sent back our reports of Kokabiel's assault, they had us excommunicated and branded heretics for including Kokabiel's statement regarding the death of the god of the bible. Amelia wasn't under their jurisdiction hence she was able to return but it is likely she faces censure as well."

Issei continued staring incredulously at the duo. "What in the world possessed you to admit that? I thought between Gael and I we'd already provided enough evidence that most if not all of your superiors are corrupt to the core. Just how _did_ you expect them to react when you informed them of the tiny detail that you have knowledge that threaten their power."

"Sorry Issei-kun, we didn't think they'd react in such a way… or confirm that it was true." A depressed Irina answered.

"Haaaah….." Issei gave a long-suffering sigh and buried his head in his hands. "Well, what's done is done, you can stay in the base for now till I get things sorted out. Gael should be back soon, see if he can't get you in contact with whatshisname, vasca? Vasco?"

"His eminence Vasco Strada?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Maybe he'll be able to work something out. You're free to stay here till then. Again, the fallen are still around and I would prefer you not fight them. Fixing my base is a major pain in the ass and I don't need it destroyed so soon after I patched it all up."

Two nods from the ex-exorcist duo was the only response he got.

"As to the jokers who though excommunicating you all was a good idea… well I'll be paying them a visit soon enough. Once they're gone maybe you'll be able to return."

"Just what do you intend to do?" Xenovia queried, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"Oh nothing much, just a friendly visit to let them know actions have consequences." A vicious smile graced his face, promising bloody vengeance. The fools were already dead, their bodies just didn't know it yet.

"You intend to kill them."

"Kill is such a strong word… I prefer leave them in agony until they expire from their wounds. I had the distinct… privilege… of looking through Valper's mind before his execution. Let's just say they have a lot to answer for and justice is long overdue."

* * *

Omake: Bloodhound rising

"Pathetic fools! There's no escape!" Issei's voice rang out in the shadows before his figure dropped out of the trees and landed on a hapless member of the Choir, instantly crushing the man to a pulp beneath his weight.

Before the others could react, he whipped his arms out, sending razor sharp metal fragments flying from them. Tearing through body armour and embedding themselves in flesh wherever they found their mark, their victims fell where they stood, blood pouring out of the gaping wounds.

"AW YEAH!" Issei laughed maniacally before summoning two submachine guns to mow down the survivors. "Filthy Choir scum, die! Die! Die! Die! Ahhahahahaha!"

[Issei, enough with the grandstanding, we're short on time as it is, get back to work.] Motohama's annoyed voice came over the communicator in Issei's ear.

"Ehhh? Awww come on, live a little would'ya? Don't tell me you don't enjoy sticking it to these assholes, cause I know you do."

[…I will neither confirm nor deny that statement. If you must laugh at least turn off the damned comms before you do so. Oh, and heads up, that little buddy of yours picked up a stray.]

"Hmm?" Issei's question was answered by the rustling of leaves as Roku and a stranger came out into the open. Roku was as upbeat as always while the stranger looked to have escaped a warzone.

"Ni-san! Ni-san! Look, I found us a guide into the base!"

"Found _me_ a guide, it's too dangerous for you to go in gaki, and I thought I told you to stay put, ah close your eyes for just a sec."

Issei grabbed one of the surviving Choir agents by the hair as she was trying to crawl away. Once Roku had obeyed Issei's instruction, the teen ran a knife along the woman's throat before dropping the gasping body.

"There, all done, you can open them now gaki. As to you stranger, who the hell are you."

"I… I… my name is Gael. I… escaped from that prison. I… I… YOU GOTTA HELP ME! MY FAMILY IS STILL IN THERE! THEY'RE DOING STUFF TO THEM!"

"Calm down idiot, you're not making any sense. And gaki, what have I told you about finding _lost souls_ hmmm?"

"Ermm… not to find them? Because… because… ah! Because we're not a charity!" Roku answered proudly.

"Yes… so why is this man here?"

"Ni-san needed a guide so I found one."

Issei saw that he wasn't getting through to the boy today and sighed in exasperation while waiting for Gael to compose himself.

"Right… right… sorry… those… those men in white, they kidnapped my family and… and… experimented on them… oh god…"

Issei shrugged as Gael descended into hysterical sobbing. "Sounds like the Choir all right. But how did you escape their base anyway."

Gael gave a bout of self-deprecating laughter before raising his hands to show Issei. "They got me too I'm afraid." Wincing as several shudders ran along the limb, it grew in size and hair started covering it.

"They did… something to me, gave me enough power to escape. But I couldn't save the rest. Please. They're still in there, you have to help me."

"I don't have to do anything. But. Today is your lucky day since I just so happened to have an extermination mission. Lead the way then, I'll kill anything in the way, but if you betray me, I assure you, you will live to regret it."

Fortunately for all involved, Gael's guidance was solid and they arrived at the entrance to the compound in short order, only stopping so Issei could terminate a few patrols.

A massive cathedral stood before them and Issei whistled in awe despite himself. "My, my, it never ceases to amaze how they can build something like this in the middle of the jungle without anyone noticing. Hehhehehe… too bad I'm gonna burn it all to the ground."

"Okay… we're here. There should be a way for us to sneak in so I can save my people."

"Sneak? Oh please, they already know we're here, there's only one way we're getting in and that's through the front door. Gaki. Stay. Here."

"Hai ni-san!"

"So you say, but I'm going to find you inside again aren't I?"

"Hai ni-san!"

Gael stared at the duo with a blank expression. Ecstatic as he was to have come across someone who could fight and was at least nominally willing to help him save the 17th, he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating the whole thing.

'Help' came in the form of a teen and a child who could barely be more than ten years old, here they were about to launch a frontal assault on the most heavily fortified structure in the region and they could still make small talk.

The only thing that told him this wasn't a dream was the pain plaguing him from the experiments and he hoped to god he hadn't damned everyone he cared for by putting his faith in these two less than sane individuals.

Before he could voice any objections, Issei had already marched out into the open in full view of the defenders. Shrugging off enemy gunfire without issue, Issei retaliated with his own weapons, twin rocket launchers that made mince meat of anyone foolish enough to stand against him.

"Knock knock!" Issei raised his foot and kicked the giant double doors open, shattering the locks in the process. Despite being met with a hail of gunfire and explosions from the defenders on the other side, his only response was more insane laughter and a tidal wave of death.

Gael followed behind, face turning a sickly shade of green as he beheld the leftovers of Issei's rampage. He managed avoid retching to give directions to where the labs were. Any dead ends they encountered when his memory failed him were rectified shortly by Issei blowing up the walls in succession until they found the path or someone to extract the information from.

Pulling a bloodstained claw out of the last man brave enough to charge him, Issei swiped a key card taken off the man's corpse and the doors to the inner sanctum slid open noiselessly.

Beyond the doors stood a single figure dressed in a priestess garb wielding a silver cane.

"Trespassers, you are intruding upon a holy sanctuary. Turn back now or face the consequences."

"Holy? Bitch, you have a twisted sense of that word. Do me a favour and stand still so I can kill you." Issei leapt towards the obstruction, metal claws at the ready to rip her to pieces.

Sparks flew when she raised her cane to parry Issei's claws and the duo engaged in a macabre dance of death. Gael could only watch on awestruck as they performed feats he never thought possible.

"Vile beast. How dare you bare your fangs against us. We work for the glory and advancement of human kind! You would oppose that!? I, vicar Amelia will not allow you to succeed."

Issei hurled his head back in laughter, dodging an overhead strike by a hairsbreadth in the process before counterattacking. "Don't recall asking for your worthless name and I don't understand why you Choir idiots find the need to justify yourself. I don't care what your goals are or how _holy_ you believe yourselves to be, I'm just here to end you."

Issei began forcing Amelia back with his own inhuman strength, inflicting a multitude of small cuts wherever her defence failed to account for his ability to spawn blades from random parts of his body. His inexperience kept him from delivering a finishing blow much to his chagrin.

"Gael, make yourself useful and go find your people or something. Quit standing around!"

Gael barely managed to parse Issei's command, his mind had nearly shut down from fear at coming face to face with the monster who'd captured and experimented on him prior to his escape. Unable to work his mouth properly, he could only give a shaky nod before dashing deeper into the sanctum while Issei kept Amelia busy.

"Can't you see that your actions are keeping mankind from its destiny!? Why do you resist!?"

"Nope, can't see it, don't wanna see it. I just want to see you bleed." Issei locked the cane in place with his claws and summoned a spike to burst forth from his chest. A timely dodge from the vicar kept her from being skewered but still left a long gash along her side.

Pushing a hidden button on the cane, she transformed it into a bladed whip and took advantage of Issei's momentary surprise to disengage and leap away from him. Whipping out a glass vial, she downed the contents and her wounds began to heal immediately.

Issei growled in frustration and prepared to resume battle as Amelia readied herself. Both were caught off guard by a series of massive explosions rocking the building, sending large chunks of the ceiling falling towards them.

'Tch, Motohama must be done with rigging the place to blow, this sucks, I wanted to kill some more.'

"No! The specimens!" Amelia shouted before rushing off in the same direction Gael went, Issei's attempt to follow was thwarted by the falling masonry forming a barricade of sorts and a truckload of hostiles pouring out of the side passages.

"Wait! Ah fuck it, I'll kill her next time, now you assholes… BURN!" Laughing like a maniac again, Issei rushed into the horde of opposition, their small arms fire serving only to replenish his metal supplies.

Forming additional blades on his elbows and knees, blood splattered everything as he mowed them down like grass. Within a minute, he was surrounded by thirty corpses but both there was no sign of Gael or Amelia.

[Three minutes till the place is rubble and all hunters outside the base have been recalled as a result of your little party. Get out of there now or you're digging yourself out.]

"Aww… fine. I'll leave."

"Ni-san! We can't just leave Gael here. We have to save them!" Roku's insistent voice interrupted Issei's reverie.

"Didn't I tell you to stay outside. Ah never mind, Gael and his buddies are on their own. There's not enough time to get them all so why bother?"

"We can't leave them!"

Issei sighed in exasperation as he wasn't winning this argument, not when the boy had already made up his mind. Forcibly evacuating him would only see Roku find a way to slip away from him and return to the cathedral on his own.

"Shiiiit, I'm growing soft. Fine, I'll try to save them. Now please, leave this place and find a safe spot to wait."

"Hai ni-san!" Roku snapped off a salute and ran off into the shadows, leaving Issei shaking his head.

"Right, two minutes and thirty seconds left, no time to waste." Bringing all of his power to bear, Issei kicked off hard enough his feet ruptured the ground. Clearing the rubble in a single jump, he broke out into a dead spring down the hall.

Vaulting over any obstacle and slashing apart every panicked member of the Choir unfortunate enough to run into him, Issei was vaguely aware of where he was going.

His senses had been heightened to an extreme and Issei felt as though he could identify where every living thing was in this sprawling complex. He attributed it to being a result of the link between whatever organism had infected him that fateful day stabilising further. Mentally filing it away under the list of things he needed to get an answer from his shishou.

Running through the possibilities, there was only one place Gael and Amelia could have headed to, a subterranean chamber where several dozen life signs resided, all but two of them stationary and strangely muted.

Lacking the time to continue navigating the collapsing structure, Issei decided to risk further structural instability in favour of a short cut.

Forming a drill out of his arms, Issei bored a hole straight through the floor and all the way to the chamber directly below. As soon as his drill met no further resistance, he reformed them back into his hands and fell through the hole.

Arriving just in the nick of time, his sudden appearance distracted Amelia long enough for a giant wolf to roll away and avoid another painful blow from the blood-soaked whip. The right side of the wolf's face had been brutally savaged and only the familiar rags on it identified the beast as Gael.

A glance around the area revealed rows upon rows of comatose 'wolves' lying on operating tables with multiple drips hooked up to them, more than a few no longer breathing.

Issei narrowed his eyes before lunging straight at Amelia, claws aimed for her jugular. The vicar switched her whip back into its cane form to ward off the berserk Issei.

"Foul creature, you've destroyed years of hard work. Monsters like you need to be put down."

Issei snarled before batting the cane away and redoubled his efforts to eviscerate her. "Yeah, I'm a monster, never denied it. But even a monster has lines he will not cross, you… it's sickening how you believe you can justify all this. Humans are the real monsters indeed, but then, you can keep up with me… so how human are you really?"

"Tsk, enough of this." Amelia disengaged once more and readied a flashbang. "I have responsibilities elsewhere, but I will not forget this insult. Till next time."

Tossing it in Issei's direction, once the blinding flash and ringing had disappeared, Amelia had vanished into thin air.

By this time, Gael had already reverted to his human form and was clutching his mangled face. "P-please s-save them."

Issei nodded before paging Motohama. "Yo, I have a situation, need emergency lantern now. Got a room full of test subjects that immediate evac to the dream, no time to get them out the normal way."

The time was almost up and the pillars groaned in protest as cracks spread along them. Forcing metal to grow out from his feet, Issei had them erupt into additional metal support beams to keep the ceiling from collapsing on them all for a little bit more.

Spending the next ten seconds shooting down any piece of rubble that threatened to crush the patients, Issei breathed easier when the air next to him distorted and a glowing purple lantern spawned.

"Alright, time to go people!" Issei grinned and touched the lantern, a burst of energy exploded forth and the world went white. When the light faded, the room was devoid of anyone and the ceiling finally came crashing down.

Issei and company found themselves amidst a field of flowers with a log cabin in the distance. An unnaturally large and red coloured moon hung overhead while a strange fragrance filled the air. Aside from Gael's laboured breathing, all was quiet.

That peace was interrupted when Issei had to block a killing blow meant for one of the comatose werewolves from Motohama. Sparks flared as the two friends traded blows.

"What the hell Issei!? These aren't people, they're beasts."

"Whoa, I didn't bust my ass to save them just so you could kill them. Besides, half-face over there is one of them and he's still sane… relatively speaking."

Motohama groaned in frustration before punching Issei in the face. "But for how long? They're beyond saving, even if they were human once, they're cursed now and we have no cure for them. A mercy kill is the best we can do. They could lose themselves to their own instincts at any time."

"Like you?"

Motohama faltered at that question and Issei took the chance to push him back, placing himself between the test subjects and the hunter.

"That's… it's not… fine, I'll let them live. But what if they turn?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. Who knows maybe none of them ever will, it doesn't sit right with me to execute a bunch of defenceless, unconscious victims of the Choir who never asked for this. It'd make us no different from the ones responsible."

The bespectacled hunter twitched at that comment. "Alright, alright, I get it, don't be a dick. You don't have to lay on the guilt like that. I'll see what I can do for them, no promises though. Haaah… shit, if only we made it here in time."

"In time? What do you mean in time."

"I got word that the Choir were planning to conduct some large-scale experiments at the base, it's why I called you up for a pest control job. Didn't think they'd already gone through with them."

Issei frowned and cursed the fact that they were too late. Being what he was, more than a few governments around the world would happily cut him apart to see how he ticked and as such he had a very dim view of human experimentation.

In his opinion, anyone who engaged in such lost the right to call themselves human and the only acceptable responses were either wholesale extermination or a taste of their own medicine. No mercy for the merciless after all.

As Motohama walked off to attend to Gael's injury, Issei's dreams of death and vengeance were interrupted by another voice.

"That… was… COOL!" Issei looked down to find his adopted brother next to him after appearing from… somewhere.

"Sugoi, ni-san is a real hero! Ne, ne, can you teach me how to be one too? Please….?" Issei was blasted with Roku's puppy like expression at point blank range and had to rapidly avert his eyes before he found himself promising something he'd regret. Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that his transformation into whatever he was now left him two glaring weaknesses, any sufficiently attractive female and little brothers evidently.

"I'm not a… how did you even… you know what, I don't want to know. My sanity is fragile enough as it is." Issei shook his head before ruffling Roku's hair. Turning his attention back to the figures sleeping on the beds, he noted that fur coats were soaked in blood, most probably from whatever 'treatments' they'd been subjected to.

"Hmm, oversized dogs covered in blood… heh, wouldn't that make them bloodhounds?"


End file.
